Please, Come Back To Me
by stormy.grace
Summary: In the aftermath of the Other Side collapsing Stefan looks to an unlikely source for help, and it comes with an interesting history. I own nothing except the original characters and ideas. Enjoy!
1. A Cry For Help

"Stefan!" Klaus said, greeting his old friend and enemy with his usual mix of pleasure, amusement, and intrigue. "What, may I ask, has you calling me out of the blue? I'm a bit busy at the moment, what with my father roaming around New Orleans with a White Oak stake, but I suppose I could find a few moments to chat."

"I didn't call to chat, Klaus." Stefan said, his voice sounding tired, sad, and irritated. "We need your help."

Klaus grinned to himself as he walked the halls of his home, heading back toward his bedroom and the young woman he had left sleeping in his bed. "Has Tyler gone and bitten someone again? If you ask nicely I might be inclined to make the trip back to Mystic Falls to let whoever the unlucky victim is have a sip of my blood. Tell me, was it Damon again? He seems to have bad luck with wolves."

Stefan winced as his heart broke all over again at the mention of his brother's name. "This isn't the best time for jokes, Klaus. You may not be aware of it, but the Other Side came crashing down last night."

"And yet my father somehow managed to make it back just in time so he can continue making my life a living hell." Klaus replied, sounding a little irritated himself. "It's bad enough that my daughter didn't make it through her first day in this world, and we're neck deep in a war for the city with the witches and the werewolves. But now I'm faced, once again, with finding a way to kill my father before he can kill me. It actually makes it a little better knowing that there's no longer a place for him to go where he can formulate yet another way of coming back to finish off his abomination of a family."

Stefan could tell that Klaus was quickly growing angry, so he cut to the chase, explaining the events that had lead up to this moment.

Klaus paused in the doorway of his bedroom, gazing at the tumble of red hair visible under the pile of white sheets. "I can't say I liked either one of them very much, but I am truly sorry for your losses. I suppose you're looking for a way to bring Bonnie and Damon back?"

"Yes." Stefan confirmed.

"You said you had a pair of witches on hand." Klaus said. "Surely you can find a way to make them cooperate."

Stefan's gaze landed on Elena, who was sitting on a bench undoubtedly struggling with the urge to shut off her humanity. "Well, I would except Elena snapped this morning. Both of their necks to be exact."

"So our precious doppelganger has an affinity for revenge." Klaus observed. "I wonder if she came by it naturally, or if it rubbed off after spending too much time with your brother. Probably a bit of both. It doesn't surprise me that she's got a bit of Katerina in her."

Stefan sighed, growing annoyed. "We're a little short on witches around here, and I thought you might know where we could find one."

"Well, we've certainly got plenty of them around here." Klaus said. "Though I'm not sure many of them would be so willing to do any favors for a bunch of vampires at the moment."

The sheets rustled quietly as the owner of the lovely red hair slowly roused form her slumber and rolled over. She spotted Klaus in the doorway and gave a sleepy, yet quizzical look at the mischievous smile on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"Not to worry, Stefan." Klaus said, ignoring her inquiry. "There is one witch I'm quite certain would be willing to help out. She'll be in Mystic Falls, or the vicinity thereof, as soon as possible."

Stefan didn't get a chance to ask any questions about this mysterious witch or thank Klaus for his help because Klaus hung up, still grinning at the woman in his bed. She sat up, not caring that the sheets fell to her lap, exposing her breasts, as he crossed the room and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I have a job for you, love."

"And just what would that be?" she demanded lightly, curiosity shining in her smokey gray eyes.

"I have some friends that are in need of a witch, and I'd like you to lend them a hand." He explained almost gleefully.

His entire demeanor was like that of a child on Christmas morning, but she knew him well enough to know that it was more likely that of a man with a devious plan. She wasn't devious by nature, but keeping company with certain people over the years, Klaus included, had nurtured her darker side, and the promise of an exciting adventure piqued her interest.

"I'm assuming these friends of yours aren't in New Orleans." She said, her mood suddenly matching his.

"Mystic Falls, to be exact."

A grin spread across her pretty face. "I've been looking for a reason to finally pay your hometown a visit."

"Yes. Well, I'm sure your desire has nothing to do with me."

"I do have quite a history with others connected to the town."

Klaus smiled knowingly. "And that, my dear, is exactly why I want you to be the one to go."

"Let me just get dressed and I'll be on my way."

Klaus watched as she climbed out of bed and headed toward his private bathroom to take a shower before getting dressed. Since he didn't want Stefan and everyone else back in Mystic Falls to be kept waiting any longer than necessary, and he was curious to see what would unfold once she arrived, he took the liberty of packing her things for her and informing the others that she would be leaving for an unknown amount of time.

When she kissed him goodbye after having made Hayley a bit jealous with a lingering hug and friendly kiss for Elijah, he took pleasure in the fact that no one in Mystic Falls knew about her history and she had little knowledge of their present. Even though he would be wrapped up in his own battles here in New Orleans, Klaus looked forward to hearing the reactions to certain pieces of information. Although Mystic Falls and all of it's residents and past, current, and future events were, for the most part, no longer a part of his life, he couldn't resist the urge to stir up a little more trouble for the people he held and odd, and slightly twisted, version respect and love for.


	2. From Klaus, With Love

"I thought you said Klaus was sending someone." A very distressed Elena said, almost shouting the words at Stefan in her highly emotional state.

Stefan, unflappable as always, placed his hands on her shoulders and gently forced her to sit down on the sofa beside Alaric. "He did, Elena."

"Well, how long does it take to get from New Orleans to here?" Elena demanded, popping back up to resume her pacing. "It's been _two days_!"

"Sorry." A woman's voice said from the doorway. "It was a fourteen hour trip. I had to stop for the night in Chattanooga."

The woman looked to be in her early twenties with long, wavy red hair pulled up in a ponytail, fair skin, and air about her that made everyone except Enzo instantly think of Katherine. She was about Elena's size and dressed all in black. A thin, flowy top with slits in the sleeves from the collar to the cuffs, revealing most of her arms, tight jeans, and knee high boots with at least four inch heels. Finishing off the look was a pair of large silver hoop earrings dangling black feathers, several long silver necklaces dangling assorted charms and pendants, and a collection of rings on fingers tipped with a perfect black manicure.

"Our new witch is here." Caroline announced as she appeared behind the new arrival, having gone to meet her upon hearing her car pull up in the driveway of the lakehouse, which was thankfully outside the magic-free zone.

No one seemed to hear Caroline's announcement, however, as they were all staring at the new witch. Most of them seemed intrigued and curious, even somewhat relieved, but not Elena, who was staring at her in disbelief.

"You _drove_?!" she exclaimed.

The witch set her bag down, seemingly unaffected by Elena's frantic reaction.

"I can't fly." She stated simply.

"You could've taken a plane." Elena pointed out. "It would've been so much faster."

The witch sighed. "I didn't mean I couldn't physically fly. Trust me. Klaus explained everything. If I could've gotten here any faster, I would have. But I'm here now, so you can calm down."

Elena suddenly looked completely helpless as she pushed her hair out of her face. "I can't calm down. Not until Damon and Bonnie are back. You _can_ bring them back, right?"

The witch, who seemed to have an unending supply of patience, walked over and placed her hands on Elena's shoulders, as Stefan had done only moments before. "I need you to try to calm down and listen to me very carefully."

Elena took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and gazed into the witch's gray eyes.

Satisfied, the witch removed her hands from Elena's shoulders and addressed the entire group, though her gaze remained on Elena. "First of all, my name is Siobhan Cavanaugh. Nice to meet you. Secondly, I honestly do not know if I can bring them back or not. I've brought people back from the Other Side before, but I've never brought anyone back from…nowhere. _But_," she continued quickly when she saw that the frantic girl in front of her was about to start panicking again. "I'm going to try everything we can come up with to do exactly that.

"Klaus sent me with orders not to come back to New Orleans until I've found a way to undo the Travelers' spell and return Bonnie and Damon to their loved ones, and I'm sure you are all very aware of what could happen if Klaus doesn't get what he wants."

"To be perfectly honest, I have no clue what could happen." Enzo said, piping up from where he sat in the corner. "I've never had the pleasure of meeting him."

"No one cares." Caroline snapped at him, which only earned her a smirk.

Siobhan ignored the entire exchange, sweeping her gaze over the rest of the group. "Y'all know who I am. Would anyone care to return the courtesy?"

Elena, still very much herself despite her current mildly insane temperament, looked embarrassed at having failed to introduce herself. "I'm…"

"Elena Gilbert."

"How…?" Elena asked, trailing off and looking confused.

Siobhan smiled. "I'm sure Klaus left out a few details about you and your lovely group of danger attracting friends, but he didn't fail to mention the doppelganger. And you look _way_ more like Katherine than I expected."

Everyone in the room, with the exception of the snarky Brit in the corner, looked surprised.

"You were friends with Katherine?" The handsome young man she recognized from a very old photo asked.

"I knew her." Siobhan corrected. "She tormented me for a while a few years ago, helped me once, and I learned a lot from her, but she certainly wasn't my friend. In fact, I was almost happy when Klaus told me she was dead."

No one was quite sure what to say and the pause pushed Siobhan to continue talking. She stepped around Elena and walked over to the vampire she had heard so much about, smiling at him. "And I know you're Stefan. I really hope you've got that whole ripper thing under control."

"Katherine mentioned me?" Stefan assumed.

"Yes, but I knew about you before I met her." Siobhan replied, somewhat cryptically, once again reminding everyone of Katherine.

"How?" Stefan asked.

"You don't really think I came just because Klaus asked me to, do you?"

"Then why did you come?" Elena asked, suppressing the urge to attempt strangling the slightly annoying witch who was more or less a gift from Klaus. "So far you don't seem like the kind of person that goes out of her way to help complete strangers, even if you were curious about the doppelganger."

Siobhan sat down on the couch, making herself comfortable. "Curiosity was part of it. Klaus asking was also part of it, admittedly a big part since I am a little afraid of making him mad, but mostly I came because a friend needed me."

"And that friend would be?" The blonde vampire asked, clearly getting fed up.

Siobhan smiled, still giving off a very Katherine vibe. "Damon Salvatore."


	3. Unexpected Surprises

"So, is everyone I met downstairs staying here?" Siobhan asked as she followed Elena upstairs to the room she would be calling home for the time being.

"No." Elena said over her shoulder. "Matt, Tyler, and Jeremy will be staying in town at Tyler's house, and Caroline's mom will be staying at her own house."

"What is everyone?"

"Stefan, Caroline, Enzo, and I are vampires." Elena explained. "Stefan and I are the only living doppelgangers, and Alaric is an Original…"

"He's a Mikaelson?"

"No."

Siobhan paused and gave her a confused look. "But you just said he's an Original."

Elena nodded. "Esther made him into a vampire the same way she did with her family, but he's not part of the Mikaelson family. Technically, he's my step-father."

"Long story?"

"Very." Elena confirmed. "Anyway, Matt and Sheriff Forbes are still human…somehow…Tyler _was_ a hybrid, but now he's back to a human with an inactivated werewolf gene, and Jeremy is a hunter with a Gilbert ring."

Siobhan had several questions about a few things Elena had just told her, but she decided not to ask them just yet.

"We set up a roll-away for you." Elena said as they stepped into the room the three women of the house would be sharing. She watched as the witch walked over and set her bag down on the freshly made bed, desperately wanting to ask about how and when she had known Damon. She wasn't that much older than Elena, and she had known Katherine "a few years ago". To Elena, that meant that she had probably known Damon just before he had come back to Mystic Falls, which lead her to wonder how he hadn't known that Katherine hadn't been in the tomb. Then again, it was Katherine, the queen of hiding in plain sight.

"Knowing Damon as well as I do, I'm assuming he was pretty pissed to find out about Katherine." Siobhan said as she unzipped the bag that Klaus had packed for her.

Elena sat down on the bed she was sharing with Caroline. "That's putting it lightly."

"And you two are…?" Siobhan inquired, curious to know the exact nature of the relationship.

"Dating…sort of." Elena said.

"Sort of?"

"Well, we broke up not too long ago and we got back together before the Other Side collapsed, but I'm not entirely sure if we were officially back together or not."

"But you're in love with him?"

"Yes."

"And he's in love with you?"

"Yes." Elena said, throwing a slightly suspicious glance at the other woman's back. "Why?"

"I'm just trying to get a feel for the people I'll be living with for who knows how long." Siobhan said. She glanced over her shoulder, giving Elena a conspiratory smile. "Did you date Stefan too?"

Elena flushed mildly, not answering.

Siobhan grinned and shook her head. "Damn. You are Katherine, aren't you?"

"I'm _not_ Katherine." Elena insisted defensively.

"Of course not." Siobhan said. "I like you. I couldn't st—Oh gussie!"

Elena was startled by the sudden exclamation and then bewildered by the strange choice of words. "What is it?"

"Klaus packed my things." Siobhan said, staring at something in the bottom of the bag.

"So?"

Siobhan lifted a large, heavy-looking, and very old book and turned toward Elena, a slightly stunned look of sheer excitement on her face. "This isn't my grimoire."

Elena stood, moving closer and running her fingers gently over the cover. "Then who's is it?"

"I think it's Esther's." Siobhan said, a clear measure of awe in her voice.

Elena drew in a sharp breath. "He gave you his mother's grimoire? Exactly how close to Klaus are you?"

Siobhan couldn't break her gaze away from the ancient book in her hands. "I've known Klaus and Elijah for a few years, and they've been very kind to me, sort of taking me in in a way, I guess. Elijah is like a big brother to me, but Klaus…"

"Isn't." Elena finished.

"Not unless you're into incest." Siobhan said, finally taking her eyes from the grimoire.

There was a playful glint in her eyes that reminded Elena of Damon, and she suddenly found herself fighting back the urge to cry. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath.

"So you're sleeping with him." She said when she was able to speak again.

"Yeah." Siobhan confirmed.

"Stefan said he had a daughter." Elena said, still shocked that Klaus was a father.

Siobhan took the book and sat down on the big bed, looking up at Elena. "'Had' being the key word there. Every faction in New Orleans wanted that baby dead. The witches basically ripped her out of Hayley's womb and sacrificed her to complete a ritual."

Elena was horrified. "Oh my god. Poor Klaus."

Siobhan was one of the few people that knew the truth about Hope Mikaelson, but she had sworn she wouldn't say a word to anyone. Even though she knew the baby was safe somewhere with her aunt, Elena's empathy for a man that had tried to kill her for his own selfish reasons warmed her heart. She may look scarily like Katherine and have the same taste in men, but she definitely wasn't Katherine.

Siobhan opened the book and a slip of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. Elena picked it up and handed it to her new ally.

_Shiv,_

_ There are a lot of people in this town that would like to get their hands on my mother's grimoire. Unfortunately, most of them are not my allies. When I told Elijah what you're off to do he suggested it might help you in you endeavor. My brother is likely right, but you know as well as I that that isn't the only reason we've placed it in your care. You know how valuable this book is, and we know it will be safe with you, love. Please guard it with your life, and I hope it does help._

_Yours always, Klaus_

Siobhan looked up to see Elena waiting expectantly, obviously curious to know what the note said. She smiled. "They thought it might help us bring Damon and Bonnie back."

Elena suspected that wasn't all there was to the note, but didn't want to pry. She had just been informed that Klaus was Siobhan's lover, and didn't really want to know any intimate details. She was, however, curious as to why Klaus was suddenly being so helpful and kind to them. Had it been Elijah, she wouldn't have been surprised if he had come himself if he had been asked and had been able to, but Klaus wasn't anymore Elijah than she was Katherine. Yes, they had similar tendencies and tempers, and Elijah was just as deadly as his brother, but Elijah was driven by honor and Klaus by his own selfish wants.

As she watched Siobhan flip through Esther's spellbook a pit in her stomach told her that Klaus had an ulterior motive for helping so willingly, but she couldn't ignore the fact that they now had someone that could help bring Damon back to her as he had promised.


	4. Nowhere

"Do you think it'll hurt?" Bonnie asked, squeezing Damon's hand a little harder than necessary. Partly for assurance, and partly because she was scared.

She was used to being the anchor by now and being able to go between worlds, but usually she was in one or the other. Right now she and Damon were on the Other Side, where it was windy and getting ready to self destruct, but she could see all of her friends in the real world where the weather was perfectly calm. It was a weird feeling, seeing two separate worlds at once, and she wondered if it was the same for Damon. But she didn't have time to ask.

"I don't know." Damon said, as she heard Jeremy desperately scream her name one last time, and then everything was gone.

%%%

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, or if any time had passed. She didn't know where she was, or if she was. As she opened her eyes she realized she was in the same place she had been standing in, holding Damon's hand, when everything had disappeared. It was dark and she was cold, and as she sat up she realized she was sitting in a deep snow drift. At least she assumed it was snow. As she looked around she couldn't see anyone else. Her friends were all gone, and so was Damon. Not too far away she could see the Salvatore crypt, but it was nothing more than ruins now.

Bonnie stood up and realized that this wasn't the Other Side or the world where her friends were. It only looked like it. She looked around again, hoping to see someone. Anyone. She'd settle for Silas or Katherine or any one of the vile enemies that had passed through either herself or Amara, but there was no one. No enemies, no friends, and nothing in between. She was completely alone in the dark, and chilled to the bone, standing in the snow in a place that was familiar but unfamiliar at the same time.

She had hoped that by getting all her friends back to the land of the living she would have found peace, but surely this miserable place wasn't where you went when you found peace. She didn't think it was Hell, but there weren't too many other options. Maybe she was in Hell and all the good she had done hadn't outweighed the bad.

"Damon?" she called out, still holding on to the slim hope that maybe she wasn't completely alone in this place. "Grams? Lexi? Anyone?"

No one answered. There wasn't a single sound except her voice ringing out around her, and the sound of her feet crunching through snow when she began to walk.

She picked her way through the snow, toward the cemetery, and tried to peer into the Salvatore crypt to see if anyone was inside, but the rubble blocked the doorway. "Hello? Is anyone in there? Damon? Damon!"

Still no answer.

She turned back toward town, pushing her hair out of her face, and began crying as she walked. She didn't feel like she was at peace. She felt lost and alone and scared. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself in an attempt to fight against the bitter cold and began running toward town, hoping to find some warmer shelter to hide in.

%%%

"Bonnie!" Damon yelled as loudly as he could. "Bonnie! Where the _hell_ are you? I swear if you left me here alone…"

He trailed off because finishing the sentence was pointless. If Bonnie had found peace and left him wherever this was all by himself, there was nothing he could do to her. There was nothing he could do to anyone, because there was nothing to do.

Nothing except freeze forever. He'd never felt a cold like this, and as he picked his way through the burnt and ruined Mystic Grill it only grew worse, because he found his wrecked car sitting right where it had stopped when the building had exploded. That wouldn't have been so bad if Elena's burned and crispy body hadn't been strapped into the front seat.

_Elena_. He tried to resign himself to the fact that he would never see her again as he managed to crawl out of the rubble. As he found himself in a grim, snow covered world he tried to believe the words he had said to her before the Other Side had collapsed. He had believed them whole-heartedly at the time, but now the thought of having been loved by her for such a short time didn't seem like enough compared to a possible eternity in this frozen hell.

"Bonnie!" he yelled again, his voice echoing down the ruined, deserted street. He suddenly realized that he desperately hoped that she was somewhere in this world with him and it was only a matter of finding her. "Bonnie!"

He stood in the middle of the street and looked around what had once been his home. Everything looked so dismal and bleak, the buildings all crumbling and half destroyed.

As he looked around he realized that he had woken up, or whatever he had done since he was no longer alive, where he had died. Maybe Bonnie had too. That meant if she was hear, she was either at the cemetery or in the tunnels somewhere. Deciding to check the cemetery first, he turned in the proper direction and began trudging through the impossibly cold snow, repeatedly calling her name.

%%%

"Bonnie!"

Bonnie stopped in her tracks, uncertain whether she had actually heard anything or not. Maybe she was only imagining a distant voice that sounded a lot like Damon. Still hoping, she stood perfectly still and listened.

"Bonnie!"

A smile spread across her face as she realized the voice was real.

"Bonnie!"

"Damon!" she called back, running in the direction the voice was coming from. "Damon! I'm here!"

It was dark, but not too dark to see, and although he was wearing all black as usual, it wasn't long before she could make out his shape. Not caring if she looked like an idiot, since they were the only two here, she waved her arms at him.

He had heard her, but wasn't sure it was really her until he saw her shadowy form advancing toward him, waving her arms like she was trying to flag down a plan on a deserted island. He was overcome with relief that he wasn't alone, and incredibly happy to see Bonnie as he picked up his own pace. A few seconds later his arms were full as Bonnie flung herself at him, hugging him hard. He hugged back just as hard.

"I woke up and you weren't there." Bonnie said, clinging to him. "I thought I was all alone in this place."

Damon set her back on her feet and studied her face, wanting to have a friendly one to remember in case she suddenly faded away. She felt real enough, but he couldn't be sure. Her hair was in her face and he brushed it back, smiling. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you, Bonnie Bennett."

Bonnie wrapped her arms around him once more. Their past no longer mattered. Yes, she had hated him once, but clearly he was the only one she had now and she wasn't willing to let go of him.

"Where are we?" Damon asked finally.

"I have no idea, but I'm freezing." She replied.

"Me too." Damon said as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Damon, no." Bonnie objected. "You need it."

He shrugged. "I don't think I'm going to freeze to death."

She accepted his reply and pulled the jacket tighter around her even though it didn't help any. "Is it any warmer inside?"

"No, but I think I'd rather be inside."

She nodded in agreement and they both began walking, eventually finding themselves at the Salvatore boarding house. It was half demolished, as the rest of the town was, but they could get in and somehow found their way to the living room that was mostly still intact.

"Do you think we can build a fire here?" Bonnie asked as she huddled on the couch.

Damon had been thinking the same thing and began stacking wood in the fireplace. "You wouldn't happen to have a match, would you?"

"Yeah, because I always carry matches around during supernatural apocalypses." Bonnie said sarcastically.

Damon gave her a bland look and began digging through the books that had been dumped in the floor, and the shards of broken glass and wood, and upturned furniture. By some amazing stroke of luck he found a box of fireplace matches, and was insanely happy when one burst into flame when he struck it. He lit the fire and held up his hands to thaw them out. Bonnie crowded in beside him, and although the fire was blazing, it gave off very little light and hardly any heat.

With a sigh, Bonnie pressed against Damon out of necessity, but there wasn't even any body heat to share. "I guess our only hope is going numb."

"We won't be here forever." Damon said, sounding as if he believed what he was saying as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"And what makes you think that?" she asked.

"Because there's no way our friends aren't frantically searching every possible outlet for a way to bring us back."

She knew he was right, but she was also aware of another possibility. "What if there isn't a way to bring us back?"

"Then they'll all die trying and they'll probably end up here with us."


	5. Good Mornin', Good Mornin' To You

The next morning Elena and Siobhan walked into the kitchen, Esther's grimoire in tow, and were greeted by the early morning sounds of a very annoyed Caroline.

"Oh my god, Enzo!" She exclaimed. "Why are you even here?"

"I want Damon and Bonnie back as much as everyone else." Enzo replied.

"Your humanity is _off._" Caroline reminded him. "You don't care about Bonnie and Damon anymore. You _never_ cared about Bonnie. And no one really wants you here!"

Enzo flashed a quick grin, solely meant to torture and antagonize the nearly enraged blonde. "I think someone does."

"Me?" Caroline asked on a laugh. "No. I don't like you. I can't stand you. Why would I want you here?"

Enzo didn't reply. Instead he got up and brushed by Elena and Siobhan, lowering his voice but still speaking loud enough that Caroline wouldn't have had a problem hearing him had she still been human. "She's in denial."

Siobhan wasn't sure how to react since she had only just met this dysfunctional group of people, but Elena snickered as Enzo walked away and Caroline emitted something that sounded like a strangled roar.

"I'm not in denial!" she insisted as the other two moved further into the kitchen where Stefan and Alaric were sitting at the table with amused looks on their faces. "Because to be in denial there has to be something to be in denial about, and I have nothing to deny!"

"You do realize that this is exactly how you used to react to Klaus, right?" Elena said as she picked up the freshly brewed pot of coffee.

Caroline looked stunned for the quickest moment, and then shook her head. "I don't like Enzo, and this has nothing to do with Klaus."

Siobhan took the cup of coffee Elena handed her, setting the grimoire on the table, and smiled at Caroline. "He wanted me to tell you hello, by the way."

"What?" Caroline asked, clearly frazzled by the events of the morning.

"Klaus." Siobhan said. "He says hello. I think he misses you. If you want I can let him know that Tyler's out of the picture."

Caroline glared at the redhead. "No. You don't get to tease me yet. You don't earn that right until your bring Bonnie back."

"And Damon." Siobhan added.

"Yes. And Damon."

Elena joined the others at the table, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Siobhan, how can you be so cool about Klaus pining for Caroline when you're…"

"Sleeping with him?" Siobhan supplied, amused at Elena's apparent modesty mostly because she knew Damon so well.

"You're dating Klaus?" Alaric asked, surprised.

Siobhan tossed her hair over her shoulder. "No. I'm sleeping with Klaus. Trust me. It's nothing serious. I adore the man, but I'm not stupid."

"Adore?" Stefan repeated, as if the word were completely foreign. "Klaus?"

"Stefan, I know a different side of him." She explained, as her new housemates gave her their complete attention simply because they were curious. "I know he's a terrible person and he's ruthless and violent, and usually has no regard for others unless it suites his needs. I've seen all of that and I've heard the stories. But I also know that he has fits of graciousness and a big heart when it suits him. Niklaus Mikaelson has an amazing capacity to love when he's not afraid the person he's loving is going to stab him in the back. He's an extremely passionate person with an extremely screwed up family."

"If that's how you feel about Klaus, I can't wait to hear your glowing description of Elijah." Alaric said humorously, earning a smile and the tiniest laugh from Elena, which made him smile. Elena's smile hadn't been a common sight the last few days.

"It's very similar, actually." Siobhan said. "Elijah's dark side is just as dark as his brother's."

"So how are you bringing Bonnie and Damon back?" Caroline asked, clearly ready for a new subject.

Siobhan sipped her coffee and gestured to the ancient book on the table. "We're hoping Esther's grimoire might be able to help."

"And where is your grimoire, sweetheart?" Enzo asked making a second appearance.

Siobhan twisted around to look at the vampire who supposedly had no humanity. He didn't seem much different than Damon had when she had met him, and he had had his humanity at the time. "I know my spells, thank you very much."

"But how do we know that?" Enzo countered, leaning against the wall. "How do we know that you haven't only been practicing for a few days, or that you're even a witch?"

"Why do you care?" she shot back. "If your humanity's off it shouldn't matter in the least to you whether I can help or not."

Enzo shrugged. "Call it morbid curiosity."

"Well I assure you Klaus knew what he was doing when he sent me." Siobhan said. "I'm nothing but witch. Cavanaugh on one side, Devereaux on the other, which is why I was in New Orleans in the first place. I had to bury my cousin, who I'm told had become quite the little bitch witch.

"I've always known I was a witch, and have been practicing since I was in kindergarten." She continued. "Natural magic and ancestral magic. Not to mention the fact that the Cavanaugh line goes all the way back to ancient Ireland at least, and are a very powerful line of witches. Actually, there's a rumor I haven't been able to find proof of yet that says some ancestor of mine from a thousand years ago was actually related to Esther."

Enzo didn't look impressed, unlike the others, and Siobhan stood up. "If you'd like me to demonstrate, I can."

"No need." Enzo said, pushing off the wall and flashing that annoying smirk he seemed so fond of. "You were right. I really don't care. I'm only here because it's fun to mess with all of you and I have nothing better to do."

"You could go to Cape Horn." Stefan suggested. "I hear it's lovely this time of year."

"I'm sure it is." Enzo said and walked out of the room.

"So you're technically related to Klaus?" Caroline said.

"Supposedly." Siobhan replied as she at back down, her annoyance with Enzo quickly fading. "The first time I met him was actually at my tenth birthday party. He gave me a beautiful painting, and then got into a fight and ripped my uncle's heart out."

"And you like him?" Caroline asked.

Siobhan simply smiled at her new companions' shocked expressions. "Like I said, my relationship with the Mikaelsons is complicated. But to be honest, no one really liked my uncle and he had it coming. If Klaus hadn't killed him, someone else would have. Possibly myself. The man was an insufferable, paranoid control freak."

"Like Klaus." Alaric said.

"Worse. Until Klaus ripped it out of his chest I didn't think he actually had a heart."

Elena gave the witch a confused look. "I thought you said you'd only know Klaus and Elijah for a few years."

Siobhan nodded. "I met Klaus when I was ten. I knew about them my entire life, and met Elijah a few times over the years. But I didn't really spend any time with them or get to know them until recently."

Everyone was quiet for a while as they finished their breakfasts and waited for everyone else to arrive.

"So," Tyler said as everyone settled in the living room about an hour later. "Do we have a plan yet?"

"I found a spell in Esther's grimoire I think might work." Siobhan said, drawing the attention of those around her.

The spell needed a few adjustments, but she was certain that, even if it didn't work, it was a good place to start. As she explained how it would work she realized that she wanted it to work just as much as everyone else did. She wanted to see Damon again too.


	6. Warming Up To The Cold

**Author Note – THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the lovely reviews! It means so much to me, and I'm so excited that y'all are enjoying this story. A special thanks to Florencia7 for inspiring me with your wonderful story!**

"At least you got to say goodbye." Bonnie said, trying hard to keep her teeth from chattering.

It felt like it should be late at night, but there seemed to be no concept of time in this world. It was continually dark and continually cold, and unfortunately there didn't seem to be any hope of going numb or building a fire big enough to give off much heat. They had found a few unbroken bottles, but even liquor wasn't warming them up. They couldn't even get drunk to forget they were cold.

"You could've." Damon said. "You knew it was coming. Why did you lie?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I wanted to make it easier?"

Her words were more a question than an answer.

"For who?" Damon asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie said with a sigh. "I guess part of me was in denial, and part of me hoped there was a way to save myself when everything came down. Honestly? I think I was trying to make it easier on myself. I couldn't stand to see Jeremy, or anyone else, hurting like that."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better being able to say goodbye didn't really help me any." Damon admitted. "She couldn't see me or hear me or feel me. The only reason she knew I was there was because you told her. Sating goodbye to Elena was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and it only made it worse to see her crying like that. I promised I'd come back to her, and…"

"You will." Bonnie said, laying a comforting hand on his arm. "You and Elena are the most determined people I've ever met. If there's a way to bring us back they'll find it. I just wish there was something we could do to help."

Damon sighed and sipped the brandy that did absolutely nothing. "Bonnie?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything." Damon said. "I'm sorry for all the terrible things I've said and done to you. I'm sorry I killed your Grams and turned your mom into a vampire. I gave you every reason to hate me, and you still helped me when I needed it."

"I wasn't helping you, Damon." Bonnie said. "I did hate you. Anything I did to help you was because of Elena. If I didn't know for a fact that Elena and Stefan would have hated me forever I probably would've killed you myself."

"A simple 'I forgive you' would've sufficed." Damon said dryly, teasing her even though he knew she was being completely serious.

Bonnie smiled. "I do forgive you. You're not a bad person, Damon. You've just made some bad choices."

"I know." Damon said, doing that eye thing of his.

"If you had the chance to do it all over again, would you change anything?" Bonnie asked, genuinely curious.

"Yep." Damon replied almost before the words were out of her mouth. "I would've forgotten Katherine and gone straight for Elena. Would you?"

"I wouldn't have helped you open the tomb."

Bonnie scooted closer, still faintly hoping that there was some way to warm up. "If they can bring us back, do you think we'll be the same?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think you'll still be a vampire?"

"I hope so." Damon said. "I've been around for a hundred and seventy-three years, most of that as a vampire. I hated it at first, but there's no way I would willingly go back to being human."

"If you do come back as a human will you have Elena turn you again?"

"It would only be fitting." He said. "Katherine turned me the first time. Why break the doppelganger trend now? Would you want to be a witch again?"

"I would say that I'd rather just go back to how things were before you and Stefan came back to Mystic Falls, before any of this happened and we were just normal kids, and the biggest thing we had to worry about was what to wear to Homecoming, but I'd be lying."

"Really?"

Bonnie wasn't surprised that her answer had surprised Damon. It had surprised her too. "Really. Even with all the bad things that have happened we've all grown into better people because of it. Elena and Jeremy aren't sad about their parents anymore, they've both found someone to love. _I've_ found someone to love. Caroline is still Caroline, but she's not _so_ Caroline. Matt's moved on from Elena finally, and Tyler isn't a huge jerk anymore. We've all lost a lot, but I don't think I really regret any of it. Do you?"

"Some, but there's nothing I can do about it."

They fell into a comfortable silence, despite the bitter cold, and sat staring at the useless fire for a long time.

"Just so you know," Damon said. "I'd still let you die in a heartbeat if meant saving Elena."

Bonnie smiled. "Same here."

"That's a lie." Damon said, calling her out. "You would do everything in your power to save me _for_ Elena."

"So would you."

"Yeah, but you'd try harder."

"Think we'll ever realize that the world doesn't revolve around Elena Gilbert?"

"Mine does."

"And _that_, "Bonnie said, poking his shoulder. "Is why I know you'll find a way back."

"And you won't do everything you possibly can to get back to Jeremy?"

"Of course." Bonnie confirmed. "But if I can't, I'll accept it. You, on the other hand, refuse to accept anything that's not to your liking."

He looked around at the wreckage around them. "I've accepted this."

Bonnie shook her head. "No you haven't. And neither have I. We've resigned ourselves to it because we have no choice."

Damon acknowledged the fact that she was right with a nod and downed the rest of his drink, tasting nothing. "Being dead sucks."

"Damon, you're a vampire." She reminded him. "You've been dead for over a hundred years!"

"Undead." He corrected. "There's a difference, little Miss Anchor to the Other Side."

"Former anchor."

They smiled at each other and continued to wait for their friends to find a way to rescue them from wherever they were, both of them knowing it would be a long, boring wait no matter how quickly a solution to the problem was found. After all waiting was all they could do.


	7. The Way Back Home

**I hope this chapter is plausible. If you don't find it to be so, please let me know. I'll rewrite it if enough of you don't think it makes sense.**

"How many days do you think it's been?" Bonnie asked, no longer feeling strange about snuggling with Damon. They were currently lying on the sofa together, looking very much like a couple in love, with several blankets wrapped around them, and Bonnie had almost convinced herself she was beginning to feel the tiniest bit of warmth.

"Does it matter?" Damon replied somewhat callously.

Bonnie shrugged, brushing off Damon's mood. "Just curious. I feel like we've been here for just a few hours and forever all at the same time."

"Welcome to eternity."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and suddenly shifted.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked as she propped herself up on her elbow and looked around. "Bonnie?"

"Shh! Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh!"

Damon would've sat up himself, but she was still practically on top of him, pinning him down. He couldn't help but wonder what Elena or Jeremy would say if they saw the two of them snuggled up in such a cozy, and somewhat romantic, position as he tried to hear whatever it was Bonnie thought she had heard.

Unfortunately, his vampire hearing didn't seem to be working, and that fact alone alarmed him. He hadn't bothered trying to use and of the little perks that came with being a vampire because there wasn't any need. He wasn't sure if the lack of hearing ability was because he was dead and in some kind of eternal mystery world, or if Bonnie had been right and he would be coming back to Elena as a human.

A faint crunching noise sounded, as if someone was stepping on broken glass.

"That." Bonnie said quietly. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Damon confirmed, his curiosity piqued. "What was it?"

"How should I know?"

"Where did it come from?" Damon asked.

Bonnie listened carefully, trying to figure out an answer to his question, but she couldn't make out the direction. "I'm not sure."

"Oh my." A familiar female voice said from behind them. "Aren't you two cozy?"

Bonnie's head whipped around, stunned to learn that she and Damon weren't the only ones here, and was utterly shocked when she saw who their new companion was.

"_Qetsiyah?_" she exclaimed in mild amazement and confusion, as she tried to sit up. She could only move a few inches, however, because they had the blankets wrapped so tightly around them.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Damon said, managing to sit up with Bonnie still bound to him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"First of all, it's Tessa. Remember? The whole ancient, weird name no one could remember thing?"

"Tessa, Qetsiyah, whatever." Damon replied as he and Bonnie struggled to unwrap themselves. "I don't care what your name is. How did you not get sucked into oblivion with Silas and everyone else?"

"Damon, stop." Bonnie commanded, sounding a little annoyed as she slapped at his hand. "You're just making it worse."

He gave up on the blankets, letting her handle it while still waiting for an explanation from a woman that certainly didn't look her age.

Tessa smiled impishly. "I'd like to know what the two of you were doing _there._"

Having freed them from their cocoon, Bonnie stood up, distancing herself from Damon and ignoring her ancestor's implications. "What are you doing here, Qetsiyah?"

"_Tessa_."

"Tessa. Whatever!" Bonnie corrected. "Answer the question!"

"Well, if you must know I'm coming back with you." Tessa explained finally.

"No way in hell." Damon said.

Tessa braced her hands on the back of the sofa and leaned forward. "Actually, Damon, you don't have a choice. And you can thank Bonnie's Grams for that."

"What does Grams have to do with this?" Bonnie asked.

"Didn't she tell you she found a way to ensure your happiness?" Tessa asked. She stood up and spread out her hands, gesturing to the destruction around them. "Well…this is it."

Bonnie and Damon exchanged a look and quickly turned their attention back to Tessa, hoping for further explanation.

Tessa walked around the sofa and sat down on the seat of an armchair that no longer had a back. "Before the Other Side came crashing down, your Grams tracked me down and asked if there was any way to save _Bonnie_ from going down with it.

"I'm sure you remember that I created the Other Side specifically so that Silas would be forced to spend eternity with me just like he had promised before he betrayed me with that bitch Amara." Tessa continued. "Well, I got bored and I certainly didn't want to go down with the Other Side, so when Grams started asking about saving Bonnie I saw a way to save myself too."

"And what way was that?" Damon asked.

"With a little help from a certain Original Witch." Tessa said cryptically.

"Esther?" Bonnie asked, still somewhat confused.

"Very good." Tessa's tone was patronizing and succeeded in irritating both Bonnie and Damon. "I found Esther, and we managed to come up with a way to save everyone's favorite Bennett Witch. We created this place, and I helped her get back to the real world so she can finish up that messy business with her family."

"Esther's back?" Damon asked.

"With her beloved Finn in tow of course." Tessa said. "See, when the last of the Devereaux witches died in New Orleans Esther knew that a certain cousin of theirs would be making a trip to pay her respects. This particular witch just happens to be very close to Klaus and Elijah, and we knew that no one in Mystic Falls would rest until they found a way to bring the two of you back.

"We didn't have any control over the situation, but we hoped that eventually they would realize that they would need some help from Esther's grimoire. And since so many people in New Orleans would love to get their hands on it, we knew that the Mikaelsons would want to put it somewhere safe."

"So…where is it?" Bonnie asked.

"At Elena's lakehouse with the witch Klaus sent to help bring the two of you back." Tessa replied. "She's got a lot of power and she knows how to use it, but she's still going to need some help from a couple of _very_ powerful withes."

"You and Esther." Damon assumed.

Tessa nodded. "She'll have to get in touch with Esther, who will happily help her bring me back, and together the three of us will bring the two of you back, and everyone can have their happy little reunion and skip off into the sunset. Unless it doesn't work."

"Why wouldn't it work?" Bonnie demanded.

"The plan was to just bring _you_ back." Tessa said. "Your Grams said you had figured out a way to get everyone else back, so we didn't take into consideration that Damon would take his sweet time getting through and miss his only chance."

"If you didn't plan on saving me, why am I here?" Damon asked.

"Because Bonnie got all sentimental at the last moment and grabbed your hand." Tessa explained. "Esther and I created this temporary version of the Other Side so that Bonnie and I had somewhere to wait while everyone figured things out. When the Other Side came down she was transported here, and since she was holding your hand she dragged you with her. Even with three powerful witches, the magic may not be strong enough to bring both of you back. If I were you I'd decide who gets to come back, just in case."

"Damon." Bonnie said without hesitation.

"What?" Damon asked. "No. Bring Bonnie back. Jeremy and Elena need her."

"Stefan and Elena need you!" Bonnie countered.

"Caroline would rather have you back." He argued.

"Alaric would rather have _you_ back!"

"Matt and Tyler don't care about me." Damon reminded her. "They'll want _you_ back."

"Damon, I was supposed to go with the Other Side." Bonnie said, clearly not willing to give up. "You weren't. You go back. I'll be fine here."

"Actually, once we complete the spell here will cease to exist, and you'll go with it." Tessa said. "Did you miss the part where I said it was temporary?"

Bonnie turned her gaze from Damon to Tessa, a look of pure determination on her face. "If you can only bring one of us back, bring Damon back. I'm not going, and that's final."

Damon grabbed her arm. "Bonnie, I've already said goodbye to Elena. Stefan will move on. Ric will move on. Everyone else needs you back."

Bonnie looked up at him, her expression softening. "I know that. But I wasn't supposed to come back. I had already accepted that, and we both promised Elena you would come back. You have to go. Don't make me lie to my best friend, Damon."

Damon looked at her helplessly, his eyes searching her face for any indication that he could convince her to change her mind. Finding none, he relented with a sigh. "Fine. I'll go."

He turned to Tessa, "But you have to promise you'll try to bring Bonnie back too."

"That _was _the deal I made." Tessa said, effectively giving her word.

"If you don't keep that promise, I _will_ kill you." Damon assured her.

"You can try." Tessa replied, and flashed that slightly evil smile again. "So…what _were_ you doing when I arrived?"


	8. Desperate Times

**Since no one complained about the last chapter the story must go on!**

**Georgia, 2007**

_You can love someone with all your heart_

_For all the right reasons_

_And in a moment they can choose to walk away_

_Love 'em anyway_

Martina McBride's beautiful voice drifted out of the radio speakers, and the words she sang rang true for nineteen year old Siobhan. Usually the new single made her think of her parents and how much she missed them, but this time that particular verse was like a dawn of realization for her as she stood in her kitchen, looking out at the front porch.

On a whim, acting before she could talk herself out of it, she pushed through the screen door and sat down on the steps beside the man that had brought so much trouble and joy into her life the past year. She slipped her arm through his, surprised at how natural the gesture felt, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Don't say it, Shiv." He said.

She smiled. "How do you know what I'm going to say?"

"Because I know you."

"Then you should know that I have to say it." she said.

"I can't say it back." He warned. "I can't lie to you like that."

The summer breeze played with the ends of her hair as she wished desperately for a moment that he could. She knew that he wanted to be able to tell her what she wanted to hear, she knew he shared similar feelings toward her, but she knew the dream she harbored wasn't possible.

"I know." She assured him. "I know nothing I can say will change your mind. I know I will never win you away from Katherine, but I have to say it, and you know exactly why."

"Then say it." he finally said after staring out into the yard for a long time.

Siobhan took a deep breath and said the words she had felt for a long time, but hadn't found the courage to say until this moment. "I love you, Damon."

%%%

**Mystic Falls, 2011**

"Siobhan!" Tyler called angrily as he stormed out of the house.

She didn't turn to look at him. She knew exactly why he was upset, and kept her eyes focused on the lake as he made his way out to the end of the dock. She wasn't surprised when he roughly grabbed her arm, and remained calm as she turned to face him. "I have no choice, Tyler."

"Why Klaus?" he demanded, his grip almost painfully tight on her arm. "Why can't you call Rebekah or Elijah?"

"You don't like either of them anymore than Klaus." She reminded him, assuming as much judging by the look on his face as he said their names.

"They'd be a hell of a lot better than Klaus." Tyler explained. "They didn't kill my mother and then sleep with my girlfriend! How could you even suggest calling Klaus when you know what he's done to me?"

Siobhan carefully removed his hand from her arm and met his gaze steadily. "Tyler, I know exactly what he's done. I know he's hurt you immeasurably, and I know you hate him with a passion, but I promise you I have my reasons."

"Because you're sleeping with him?" he spat at her, the words full of acid. "Rebekah and Elijah have Esther's blood too. Call one of them."

"No one knows where Rebekah is or how to get in touch with her." Siobhan said calmly. "I'd have to do a locator spell to find her too, and I would need one of her brother's for that."

"So call Elijah!"

"Keep in mind that which ever Mikaelson brother we call up here, the other has to stay in New Orleans to try to keep the peace between the factions."

"So?"

"Do you really think Klaus is the best one to do that?" she asked. "Trust me, Tyler. Calling Klaus is the best option. If you want Bonnie and Damon back you're going to have to get over your hate for Klaus for a little while and let me do what I have to do."

"I never said I wanted Damon back."

"Don't you want your friends to be happy?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Bringing Damon back will make Elena happy, which will make Jeremy happy." Siobhan pointed out. "I have to bring both of them back, and to bring either one of them back, I need Esther's help. I don't know where Esther is, which means I have to do a locator spell. In order to do that I need someone related to her."

"Elena said you're related to her."

"I don't know if that's true or not, and even if it is the relation is extremely distant. It would be easier to use someone closely related."

"Tyler." Elena said, having appeared behind him.

He turned to face her. "Elena…"

"I know." She said. "I know you hate him. I'm not thrilled with the idea either, but I need Damon and Bonnie back. We all do. Please. Let her call Klaus."

Tyler wanted to hold his ground and refuse to allow Klaus anywhere near Mystic Falls, but the explanations Siobhan had given him did make sense, and the look on Elena's face broke his heart. She may not be his closest friend, but she was his friend and he couldn't stand to see her hurting the way she was with both Damon and Bonnie gone. She needed both of them back, which meant he needed both of them back.

On impulse he stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. "Okay. Call Klaus."

Siobhan smiled and left them hugging on the dock as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number she knew by heart. It rang twice before his familiar voice answered.

"Hello, love." He greeted her, sounding like he wasn't in the best of moods. "How are things in Mystic Falls?"

"We need your help."

"Stefan asked for a witch, and I sent him the best to be found. Isn't that enough?"

Siobhan looked back at Tyler and Elena who were now sitting on the dock with their feet dangling over the water. "No."

"Well, what more do you need from me?" he demanded. "Mikael has taken Hayley, and Elijah is ready to kill anyone that gets in his way. I can't say I feel any different, but I seem to be keeping my head a little better than my brother. What problem could you have possibly run into that requires my undivided attention?"

"Klaus, don't take that tone with me!" she warned. "And don't bother reminding me that you're an immortal hybrid. I know, and I don't care. I'm sorry Mikael has Hayely, but I know her well enough to know that she can take care of herself. Your little wolf isn't a frail little flower. I'm aware that she's in danger either way, but you know Mikael only took her to draw the two of you out. He doesn't want her dead. He wants you dead."

"I'm perfectly aware of that, love." He snarled. "But I'd rather not give him the chance to harm her, so could you please come out with it?"

"The grimoire wasn't enough." Siobhan explained. "I need Esther's help, and I need your help to find her."

"My mother is dead."

"Your mother _was_ dead." She corrected. "I don't know where she is, but she's not dead. I assume she's in New Orleans seeing as she wants you dead just as much as Mikael, but I can't be sure unless I do a locator spell."

"You're telling me that my mother is likely roaming New Orleans, plotting my death?"

"Yes, and I can get her out of New Orleans for a little while to give you some time to try to stop Mikael, but I need your blood to do it!"

"As appealing as that sounds, I'm afraid I can't leave at the moment." Klaus said. "Bonnie and Damon will just have to wait."

"Damn it, Klaus!" she yelled, loosing her temper at his lack of cooperation. "I don't physically need _you_ here to do the damn spell. I need your blood here! Can't you send someone with a vial or something? Consider it my war effort."

"And just who do you suggest I ask?" he demanded. "The teenage witch that hates me? The man I treated like a son that hates me? One of the numerous werewolves roaming the city that hates me? I'd send Elijah in my place, but I don't think he'd be very open to the idea. Not that he doesn't love you dearly, but I'm fairly certain he's not thinking about anything but Hayley right now."

"What about Cami?" Siobhan suggested. "She doesn't totally hate you, and I know you have a soft spot for her. Sending her to Mystic Falls would get her away from Mikael. He wouldn't be able to put her in harm's way to get to you if his plan with Hayley backfires."

"And you would be drawing my mother right to her." Klaus said. "She's safer here with me."

"You seem to be forgetting that I'm capable of protecting her, and am currently living in a house full of people that will do anything to help me bring back Damon and Bonnie. Tyler Lockwood agreed to let me call you to help. _Tyler Lockwood!_ Probably the only person in the world whose hatred for you could come close to matching your parents'." She paused to let him answer. When he didn't, she resorted to begging, perfectly aware that Elena was likely listening in on the conversation. "Klaus. Please. I want Damon back too. Send Cami with your blood. For me."

"She'll be on the next flight out." Klaus said before hanging up.

%%%

**New Orleans**

"Klaus!" Cami called, running over when she spotted him stalking angrily down Bourbon Street. "I just heard about Hayley. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." He took her arm and steered her back toward her apartment. "How are you with flying?"


	9. One Step Closer

**I'm not sure if I spelled the words of the spell correctly or not. I copied them off the wiki page, so I have no way of knowing the correct spelling, but I'm sure you all recognize the spell.**

_You want a love that consumes you._

"Elena."

Elena shot out of her nap like she was on fire, thinking Damon was back. She had been dreaming about him, about the very first time they had met, and she was certain she had heard his voice call her name and felt his hand gently shaking her.

"Damon?"

"No. It's Stefan." Stefan said gently, looking pained at having to remind her that Damon was gone.

"Oh." She pushed her hair out of her face. "I was dreaming, and I thought…"

"I know." Stefan said, his heart breaking at the deflated look on her face. She was hurting so much and he wanted nothing more than to take that pain away and make everything okay again. But he couldn't, so he settled for hugging her instead as she began to cry quietly. He rubbed her back, trying to comfort her as any friend would. "I know. It's going to be okay though. Cami's here."

"Who?" she asked, sniffing and still clinging to him.

"Klaus couldn't come because of something with Mikael, but he sent someone with his blood." Stefan got up, gently pulling his ex-girlfriend to her feet. "Siobhan's getting ready to do the locator spell to find Esther."

"What's taking so lo-?" Caroline asked as she came into the room stopped in her tracks when she saw Stefan holding Elena. She knew nothing was going on between them, but she couldn't help feeling a little jealous seeing the fated doppelgangers clinging to each other. "Oh. Is…everything okay?"

Elena nodded, letting go of Stefan and wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Yeah. I, um, I was dreaming about Damon, and when I heard Stefan calling my name, trying to wake me up…"

"You thought it was Damon." Caroline finished. Any jealousy she felt quickly faded as she moved forward and hugged her friend. "Don't worry, Elena. We're going to get them back. No matter what."

Elena held on tight to Caroline for a long moment and then took the tissue Stefan offered her, drying her face as she followed them downstairs. They joined the others in the living room, where Siobhan was setting up to do the locator spell. An unfamiliar blonde woman was standing beside Alaric, looking slightly bewildered. Assuming this was Cami, since she knew everyone else, she wondered if she had just been thrown into all of this crazy supernatural drama. If so, Elena felt sorry for her.

A hush fell over the room as Siobhan closed her eyes and began to chant the appropriate spell.

"Phasmatos tribum, nas ex viras sequita saguines ementas asten mihan ega petous."

They all listened as she repeated the words over and over again, and watched at the drops of Klaus' blood traveled across the map of the world that was spread out on the table. The blood gathered on the dot that marked New Orleans, confirming their assumption that Esther was in there.

An hour later Elena, Stefan, and Siobhan were packed and ready to drive to New Orleans to find Esther themselves since everyone else was busy trying to save Hayley and defeat Mikael. Cami had wanted to come with them, but Siobhan made her stay, explaining that she had promised to keep her away from Mikael. Before they left, she cast a cloaking spell on Cami to hide her just in case.

"Why can't we fly?" Elena demanded as they climbed into Siobhan's car.

"You don't like road trips?" Siobhan asked in reply, a knowing smile flashing across her face as she pointed the car toward the highway. "I remember Damon being quite fond of them."

"I like road trips just fine." Elena said. "But I want Damon back."

"So do I."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, growing suspicious once again. She liked Siobhan, but sometimes the things she said set off warning bells in her head. "What exactly was your relationship with him?"

Stefan didn't say anything, but he was curious to hear the answer. He had picked up on the little things Siobhan said about Damon too.

Siobhan smiled as she drove, keeping her eyes on the road. "To be perfectly honest, I was in love with him."

Stefan began to wish he hadn't come.

Elena stared at the woman beside her. "Is that why you agreed to help us?"

"I would've agreed to help anyway because Klaus asked me to." Siobhan said. "But yes, Damon was part of it. Don't worry, Elena. I'm not going to try to steal him away from you once he's back. I said _I_ was in love with _him_. He loved me, but not like I wanted him to, not like he wanted to. He was too determined to get Katherine back, and I would be stupid to try to steal him now. Clearly I have the wrong face."

Hours passed in silence. They were entering Chattanooga, where they would spend the night before continuing, when Stefan finally spoke up.

"Why are you so fond of Klaus?" he asked as they stepped into the hotel room they had rented for the night.

Siobhan set her bag on one of the beds. "I'm equally fond of both Klaus and Elijah. They saved me, and they've been nothing but kind and helpful to me ever since."

"How did they save you?" Elena asked.

"A wolf killed my parents when I was thirteen." Siobhan said. "Klaus and Elijah happened to be passing through town at the time and were staying with us. They were out when it happened, but when they found out they tracked down the wolf and killed the entire pack.

"We were renting the house and the landlord kicked me out almost immediately." Siobhan said, her eyes growing distant as if she were back in that time. "I had no other family and the state wanted to put me in the system. I was terrified and devastated, and I didn't know what to do. Klaus and Elijah bought a house in my name and set up a trust fund for me. Klaus went off to continue tracking Katherine, but Elijah stayed to take care of me.

"Klaus dropped by for a visit every now and then and they became my family. When I turned eighteen Elijah left to help Klaus find Katherine. We kept in touch, but I didn't see them again until I went to New Orleans to bury Monique."

"But you knew Katherine." Elena pointed out. "Why didn't you tell Klaus where she was?"

"I didn't tell anyone where she was." Siobhan said. "I felt awful about keeping it a secret from Damon and the Mikaelsons, but Katherine scared me, and I never really knew where she was. She'd just show up out of the blue while Damon was out and threaten me to seduce him into giving up on her so he wouldn't out her to Klaus. Unfortunately, her plan backfired and I ended up seducing myself into loving someone that would never love me back."

She paused and let out a little laugh. "He really did rub off on me, didn't he?"


	10. Just Getting Started

Stefan and Elena followed Siobhan into a large courtyard-like area and looked around. It didn't look like anyone was home, but it was a large building and just because there wasn't anyone to be seen didn't mean there wasn't anyone there.

"Stefan! Elena!" Klaus called from above, leaning nonchalantly on a railing. "Welcome to my home. Please make yourselves at home. Siobhan can show you around. I'd do it myself, but I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Have you found Hayley yet?" Siobhan asked, clearly concerned.

"We found Mikael." Klaus replied. "It seems our little hybrid has managed to escape. Elijah and Marcel are out looking for her now."

"Is Mikael dead?" Elena asked.

"Unfortunately, he also escaped." Klaus jumped over the rail and landed in front of them, less than a foot away from Elena. "I'm on my way out to track him down now. Once I find him, and kill him, I'll be glad to help you find my mother."

"Well," Siobhan said to Stefan and Elena. "Let's get settled and start looking."

Stefan followed as she walked further into the compound, but Elena stayed where she was, catching Klaus' wrist as he moved around her.

He paused, looking down at her hand. "Elena, I really am in a hurry. We can catch up later."

"Klaus." She said as he pulled away. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping, and I'm sorry about your daughter."

"What have you heard about my daughter?" he demanded lightly.

Elena took a small step back, ready to run if she needed to. "Siobhan said that the witches killed her. I don't know what it's like to loose a child, but if you're feeling anything like I am right now…"

Klaus' face softened. "Thank you for your condolences and your sympathy. They are much appreciated. And you're welcome."

As Klaus was turning to leave Elijah came in with Hayley and a man Elena didn't recognize.

"You can let go of me now, Elijah." Hayley announced, sounding exceedingly annoyed. "I'm safe."

She pulled free and stalked passed Elena, disappearing into some deeper part of the building Elena was almost certain she would get lost in. Elijah followed after her, not bothering to greet Elena.

"Marcel, I'd like you to meet Elena Gilbert." Klaus said, gesturing toward her. "The doppelganger. Elena, this is Marcel Girard, former friend, adoptive son, and current ally."

Without giving either of them a chance to say anything Klaus lead Marcel away to help him track down Mikael, leaving Elena all alone and having no idea which way to go. Picking up her bag she walked in the direction Stefan and Siobhan had gone, hoping it wouldn't take her long to find them.

A few minutes late she realized she had been right. She was lost and had no idea where anyone was. With a sigh she turned a corner and suddenly felt a hand wrap tightly around her throat. The hand belonged to Elijah, who clearly hadn't realized it was her.

"Elijah!" she gasped. "It's me."

"Elena." He said, quickly letting go. "Forgive me. I didn't realize it was you."

"I figured." She said.

"Are you lost?"

"This place is huge, and I have no idea where Stefan and Siobhan went."

"Come with me."

She followed, making sure to stay close in case there was some unwanted visitor lurking in the hallways. She was perfectly capable of defending herself, but it couldn't hurt to stay close to the Original that couldn't be killed unless you had the white oak stake.

"Is Hayley okay?" she asked.

"Hayley is fine." Elijah replied, taking her bag. "She's mad at me for coming to her rescue. She's a very independent woman."

"Surely she didn't expect you to just sit and wait." Elena said.

"She knows me well enough to know better." He agreed. "How are you, Elena? It's nice to see you again, though I wish the circumstances were different."

She looked at him and realized that she was somewhat happy to see him too. "I've been better."

"I'm sorry to hear about Bonnie and Damon." Elijah said as they turned a corner and stopped in front of an open door. "Here we are. Welcome to New Orleans. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

Elena took her bag back and met his gaze. "Your mother?"

A faintly amused smile crossed his face. "I have no idea where she is, but I'm sure Siobhan can find her. A word of advice, though. It's highly likely that she's borrowed someone else's body in order to go unnoticed. And please let me know when you do find her."

"I will." She promised. "And thanks. Just promise you won't kill her until after she helps us get Bonnie and Damon back."

"You have my word."

%%%

"Where is everyone?" Cami asked as she walked into the kitchen, relieved to find Jeremy and Alaric hadn't disappeared as well.

"Matt and Tyler are going through all the grimoires at the boarding house to see if there's a spell to undo the spell the Travelers cast on the town." Jeremy explained as the friendly blonde newcomer sat down beside him. "Caroline's down by the lake with her mom, and no one really cares where Enzo is."

"So why are the two of you still here?" she asked.

Alaric shrugged. "No where else to go."

"How new to the supernatural stuff are you anyway?" Jeremy asked. "You don't seem freaked out, but you did look pretty fascinated while Siobhan was doing the locator spell to find Esther."

Cami smiled. "I'm pretty new. Until I met Klaus I had no idea any of this was real."

"You seem to have accepted it pretty fast." Alaric pointed out.

"Well, there's a huge war going on between the factions." Cami said. "Klaus and Marcel both tried to keep me out of it, but my uncle was the leader of the human faction, and I was officially dragged into it when some old resurrected witch put a hex on him."

"A hex?" Alaric asked, sounding surprised.

"Dude." Jeremy said. "You're an Original vampire, and you're surprised that she's talking about hexes? That's probably the most mundane thing we've seen in the last few years!"

"It was anything but mundane." Cami informed him. "I was desperate to save him and begged Klaus to help. He gave Kieran his blood, but it didn't help. My uncle died anyway. And became a vampire. Or…almost did. He didn't complete the transition. At least that was his decision."

"How come?" Jeremy asked.

"He accepted all the supernatural craziness, but he was a priest." She explained. "He couldn't accept _being_ a vampire."

Alaric and Jeremy exchange a look. A priest turned into a vampire? That was definitely a little stranger than anything they had had to deal with.

"Anyway, he ended up completing the transition and attacked me." Cami continued. "Klaus killed him to save both of us."

There was a long pause and then Cami looked up, her gaze shifting between her two companions.

"Do you think there's a way to bring him back?" she asked.

Alaric shook his head, looking sad. "Probably not. The Other Side doesn't exist anymore. And he would come back as a vampire."

"But from what you just said, he probably found peace and moved on." Jeremy said, laying a comforting hand on her arm and receiving a grateful smile. "I doubt he was on the Other Side for long, and he definitely wasn't there when it collapsed."

"You know this is all ridiculous, right?" she asked.

Jeremy smiled. "You're talking to a guy that's dated two ghosts."

"And one that went crazy and tried to kill his own girlfriend because a magic ring brought him back from the dead one too many times." Alaric added.

Cami grinned. "Like I said. Ridiculous."


	11. The Road To Healing

**Thank you for your continued support of this story. I honestly think it's my favorite out of all my fan fiction projects. Please continue to review. I love reading all your lovely comments! It brightens my day so much :)**

"Look what I found." Damon announced, holding up a deck of cards. "We could play strip poker."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, suppressing a laugh. "I think I'll pass."

"Party pooper." Damon accused, offering her a smile and getting one in return.

"I for one wouldn't mind seeing you naked, Damon." Tessa said.

"And if you weren't so evil, and I weren't so in love with Elena, I might consider it." Damon shot back. He tossed the cards across the room because he felt like it and sat down on the couch beside Bonnie. "Think they're making any progress?"

"God, I hope so." Tessa groaned. "You two are _so_ boring. And I'm freezing."

"Now, whose fault is that?" Damon asked. "You created this place. Why didn't you think to put in a central heating system?"

Bonnie curled up at the end of the couch, ignoring the continuing bickering, and closed her eyes as she spun stories in her head about what would happen once she and Jeremy were reunited.

%%%

"Elijah!" Elena called, leaning over the rail and almost falling in her excitement. "We found her! Siobhan said she's somewhere in the bayou, but none of us know the area."

"Hayley does." Elijah replied and calmly walked away to find her.

At that moment Klaus entered the building, pausing to look up at Elena. "You've found my mother?"

"Yes." Elena replied. "But remember, you're not allowed to kill her until she helps us."

"As much as I would love to rip her murderous heart out of her chest you don't have to worry about me interfering with your plan, Elena." Klaus replied, angry as usual. "This time Mikael's absconded with Davina, and is no doubt trying to coax her onto his side at this very moment."

Elena watched as Klaus stalked away and turned to Siobhan, who had appeared without Elena noticing. "Who the hell is Davina?"

"A teenage witch that's managed to make herself invaluable to several people in this city, and whom I suspect of having helped Mikael force his way back from the Other Side." Siobhan explained hastily. "Did you find Elijah?"

Elena nodded. "Yes. He went to get Hayley."

"Hopefully Esther hasn't turned the Crescents further against us."

"The Crescents?"

"My pack." Hayley said as she practically charged by, Elijah following in her wake. "I'll kill her myself if she's harmed them."

Elijah grabbed her arm. "Hayley, wait. We can't hurt her. I've made a promise to Elena that my mother won't be harmed until she helps return Bonnie and Damon."

"I never promised anything." Hayley said.

"Why doesn't he just kill us all and be done with it instead of playing these infuriating games?" Klaus demanded below, talking to no one but himself as he stormed out again.

No one paid any attention to him as they were all focused on Hayley at the moment.

"Hayley." Stefan said, a pleading tone to his voice. "Damon is the only family I have left. Esther is the only one that can help us bring him and Bonnie back. Please, just help us find her. Once we're done with her you can rip her to shreds."

Elena held her breath as she watched Hayley consider Stefan's words and finally give in.

"Fine." Hayley said. "I'm not making any promises though."

With that the group headed for the bayou, Hayley calling ahead to make sure her pack was still safe. All five of them were determined to find Ether, and people practically dove out of their way as they marched down the street.

%%%

"What do we do if they can't find Esther?" Jeremy asked, sitting on the end of the dock with Caroline.

Caroline began swinging her feet back and forth, sitting close to Jeremy because she needed the comfort. "They will. Siobhan's a powerful witch."

"And Esther's the Original Witch." Jeremy reminded her.

"Jeremy, stop!" Caroline suddenly shouted. "Stop assuming the worst! They _will_ find Esther, she_ will_ help us, and we_ will _get Bonnie and Damon back! There's no other option. There's no other possibility."

With that she got up and walked away, planning on taking a walk in the woods to calm down. She refused to accept that the plan might not work, and she couldn't stand to hear one more of Jeremy's what ifs.

She wasn't really watching where she was walking, knowing that she was far enough away from town that she would have to walk for a while to accidentally step inside the no magic zone. She also knew for a fact that she wasn't likely to run into anyone with any evil plans against her friends or unknowingly tread through a patch of vervain. If she happened to step in a bear trap it wouldn't hurt for long. There was nothing to be afraid of other than the fact that Jeremy was right. Something _could_ go wrong. But she was too intent on ignoring that depressing, nagging voice inside her head to pay attention to what was standing right in front of her until she collided somewhat forcefully with Enzo.

"Easy there, darling." He said, reaching out to steady her. "We've got all the time in the world. No need to be so rough. Unless you're into that sort of thing."

She blinked at him first, giving her brain a chance to catch up, and then glared at him, pushing him away. "God! You're so annoying!"

Enzo, whose humanity was still off, suddenly, fleetingly, wished it wasn't. His cocky expression changed to something more akin to concern and his voice softened. "Are you alright?"

"What do you care?" she demanded.

"I don't." he said, a slight edge returning to his voice. "Humor me."

She spun around, flinging her arms out in frustration. "Of course I'm not okay! Nothing's okay! Bonnie and Damon are gone, and Jeremy's right! Something could go wrong and screw up our only chance to bring them back. Jeremy and Elena and Stefan are all heartbroken and there's nothing I can do about it.

"I'm the kind of person that fixes things when they're broken. I _need_ to fix things. It's like this burning desire I can't ignore _every time_ I see someone I care about hurting. My friends are suffering, and there's _nothing_ I can do to fix it this time!"

Passion and desperation flooded her voice, was clearly written across her face, and practically oozing out of her pores. Enzo, being Enzo, found the combination rather arousing, but forced himself to ignore the urge to grab her and kiss her because he knew it would only get him slapped and possibly killed. They were in the woods after all, and there were plenty of sticks just waiting to be snapped up and plunged into this chest by the hands of an angry blonde vampire.

Instead of acting on his natural impulse, preferring to continue living, he gave in and flipped his humanity switch back on. Ignoring the anger and hurt he felt at having found out that Damon had killed the one woman he had loved, he focused on the fact that there might be something he could do to ease Caroline's pain. Acting out of character, he reached out and pulled her close, stroking her hair as she began to cry.

"Alright." He said, soothingly, laying his cheek against her soft hair as hot tears soaked through his t-shirt. "Let it out."

If she hadn't been so upset and hurt and scared, and in such a great need of someone to comfort and pet on her like he was, she would've been amazed at the sudden shift in his personality. But in her current state, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she seriously needed to cry, because she hadn't yet, and he was willing to provide the shoulder.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Tyler stood a few yards away, watching as Enzo performed a duty he felt was still his.


	12. Found

Hayley had never seen the auburn haired girl before. She watched as the girl stood at the water's edge, giving off a sad and lonely vibe. Hayley moved a little closer, making sure not to draw attention to herself, and feeling that something was off. She was almost certain the girl was Esther and she wanted confront her, but Stefan's words echoed through her head.

_Damon is the only family I have left._

She couldn't harm the girl, and she had to be careful not to scare her away. If she was Esther they needed her alive and not angry. The others were waiting in the woods for Hayley to come back and tell tem if Esther was with her pack. It looked like the answer to that question was yes, but she couldn't be sure.

"Her name's Sarah."

Hayley looked up, slightly startled, to see Jackson standing beside her. "What?"

He gestured toward the newcomer. "Her entire pack was killed by vampires. She's all alone."

"So you took her in." Hayley said.

Jackson nodded. "She's like us."

"Meaning she hates vampires." She turned to face him. "You realize I'm a hybrid now, right? I'm half vampire."

"You're different."

"Because we're supposed to get married?" Hayley asked, annoyed. "Jackson, I care about you, but that's never going to happen. I don't care what our families wanted. I don't feel that way about you."

"What if Elijah wasn't in the picture?"

"Elijah has nothing to do with this." She said. "Did you really think I'd just go along with this betrothal thing?"

Jackson started to reply, but she walked away. He sighed and watched as she approached Sarah.

"Sarah, right?" Hayley asked.

The girl turned and smiled at her. "Right. Are you Hayley?"

There was a knowing look in the girl's green eyes, telling Hayley that she already knew the answer to her question. She had never met Esther, but she had no doubt the witch would know exactly who she was and probably want her dead as much as she wanted her children dead.

"Yes, but you already knew that, didn't you Esther?"

The girl feigned confusion. "Esther?"

"Don't worry." Hayley assured her. "I'm not here to hurt you. My friends need your help."

"And I could use yours." Esther replied. "I'm sure I don't need to explain."

"No. You don't need to explain." Hayley said. "I know exactly what you want, and I'm not going to help you get it. But you will help my friends."

"Of course I will. Because they're going to help me in return."

"I doubt that. They may hate Klaus, but I don't think they want to help you kill him since that would mean they'd all die too."

Esther simply smiled and walked away, leaving Hayley standing by the water. She paused a few yards away and turned back. "Come on. I'm not here to hurt you either, Hayley. I will help your friends. I already gave my word that I would."

Hayley had no idea what that meant, and she was afraid to ask. Pushing it aside, she followed the ancient witch that was currently residing in a teenage girl's body, and typed out a text to Elijah.

%%%

"Hayley's found her." Elijah announced. "But she's got a bad feeling about it."

"What does that mean?" Elena asked.

Elijah slipped his phone back into his pocket. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see."

Elena sighed and went to sit on a fallen tree trunk beside Stefan.

"We're one step closer to getting them back." Stefan said, sounding hopeful.

Elena tried to smile, but didn't think it was very convincing. "I don't like that we have to trust Esther to help. Klaus was bad enough, but at least we know he has some shred of humanity in him. Esther on the other hand…"

Stefan reached over and placed his hand on her back, an attempt to comfort and assure her. "Don't worry, Elena. We'll get Damon back. And Bonnie."

Elena sighed and leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. She didn't care what it looked like. She knew what it was, and she knew Stefan knew what it was. They were simply two heartbroken friends trying to make each other feel better about the sucky situation they were currently in. So what if they had once been in love? Both of them knew that part of their lives was behind them.

"Stefan?" she asked, sitting up as something suddenly occurred to her. "Was it even real?"

"Was what real?" he asked.

"Us." She clarified. "I loved you, but was it real or was it just because of the whole doppelganger thing? I mean, no offense, but what I feel for Damon is so much stronger than what I felt for you, and knowing what we know now about Silas and Amara…Were we just drawn together because of fate, or would we have ended up together anyway if all the doppelganger stuff had never happened and we were just two people that happened to meet?"

Stefan was quiet for a while, and Elena wasn't sure if he was going to answer or not. She was about to move on when Hayley and Esther arrived, but he finally spoke.

"I don't know." He said quietly. "I want to believe it was real, but I don't think we can ever be sure."

%%%

"You found her?" Caroline repeated, her voice full of excitement although part of her was unwilling to believe it was true. "Already?"

Elena glanced out to where Esther stood patiently waiting for the rest of them to be ready to leave, understandably exiled from her children's home. "Apparently she's made some kind of deal with Bonnie's Grams, and she was just waiting for us to contact her."

"Seriously?" Caroline sounded amazed at the stupidity of the situation. "She _agreed_ to bring them back and just sat in New Orleans and waited for us to figure out that we needed her help?"

"It's Esther, Caroline."

Caroline sighed. "Whatever. When are you guys coming home?"

"We're waiting for Siobhan and Stefan to finish packing and we'll be on our way." Elena said. "I am so not looking forward to a road trip with Esther."

"Can't they just do the spell there?"

"She said they have to be where Bonnie and Damon died to bring them back." Elena explained.

"But Damon died in town."

"I know." Elena said. "We have to undo the traveler spell first, and in order to do that we'll need a little more help."

"What?" Caroline was growing closer to outrage by the second. "From who?"

"A traveler."

"We killed all the travelers in town." Caroline said. "How are we supposed to find another one?"

"We don't have to find another traveler." Elena said grimly. "They're going to bring one back."

"Who?" Caroline asked cautiously.

Elena took a breath, preparing herself for Caroline's reaction. "Tessa."

Caroline was silent for a long time, and when she finally spoke her response surprised Elena. "And she'll undo the spell so we can get Damon and Bonnie back?"

"Esther said she and Tessa made a deal with Grams and they intend to hold up their end." Elena said. "So yes, I assume they'll keep their word."

"Okay then." Caroline said calmly. "We'll bring Tessa back, she'll undo the spell, and we'll get Bonnie and Damon back, and everything will be good."

"Right." Elena said. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I don't know what you mean." Caroline said quickly.

Elena smiled as Stefan and Siobhan came down. "Fine. Tell me when we get home. We're on our way out now."

Elijah, Klaus, Hayley, and Marcel all appeared to bid them farewell. Elena wasn't surprised when Siobhan got hugs and kisses from the Mikaelsons, though the displays of affection from them were somewhat foreign to her eyes, but she was slightly amazed when _she_ got hugs and kisses from them.

"Okay. What was that?" she demanded, more surprised by Klaus than Elijah since the gentlemanly kiss on the cheek seemed to fit perfectly into his character.

Klaus smiled and patted her shoulder. "I was hoping we could put the past behind us, Elena. Forgiveness would probably be too much to ask, but can't we let bygones be bygones? I promise I won't try to kill you again. I no longer have a reason to want you dead."

"Um…" she uttered, confused but oddly touched by his short speech. Had he really changed that much in the time he'd been away from Mystic falls? "Okay…"

"Okay then!" Klaus said, obviously pleased with her response. "Have a safe trip, and don't let my mother kill you. And good luck."

Elena followed her small group of companions out to the car, leaning in close to Stefan and whispering. "What the hell was that?"

"I have no idea." He replied, shrugging. "We've found Esther. Let's handle one problem at a time."

Elena climbed into the backseat with her former lover and smiled as she thought about feeling Damon's arms around her once more.


	13. Resolving Issues

"What are we?" Bonnie asked.

"What do you mean?" Damon replied, not sure how to answer her question since he wasn't exactly sure what she was asking.

She shifted to a more comfortable position and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders even though she had given up on ever feeling warm again. "I mean what are we? Are we alive? Are we dead? Are we still supernatural? Human? What?"

Damon glanced at Tessa who seemed to be asleep, curled up in a chair beside the fire. He was slightly amazed since he had tried several times since arriving in this in between freezer and had found it impossible to sleep, or even feel tired. He didn't even really feel cold anymore. Not that he was anywhere near warm, or numb. He had simply grown accustomed to the temperature that seemed to be several hundred degrees below zero.

"Damon?" Bonnie said, drawing his attention back.

"I think," he said, "that we could currently be considered unpeople."

Bonnie smiled at his definition of their current status. "You've read _1984_?"

"I read." He said. "Maybe not as much as Stefan, but I do. George Orwell had an interesting imagination."

"We had to read it in school." Bonnie remembered. "I hated that book."

Damon shrugged. "You can't please everyone. I have a question for you, Bon Bon."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the nickname she hated more than the classic novel. "What?"

"What are we?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, squinting at him in confusion.

Damon gasped, feigning surprise since he had known exactly how that was going to play out. "Déjà vu in reverse!"

Bonnie gave him a playful push.

"Please." Tessa said, stretching her arms over her head as if she had just awakened from a long, deep sleep. "He means what's your relationship status?"

"As much as it pains me to say this, she's right." Damon confirmed.

Bonnie's brow furrowed as she considered the question. After a moment of thought she looked up at Damon. "I don't know. I guess we're…friends? This place hasn't really given us much of a choice. Do you think it'll last once we get back, or will things go back to normal?"

Damon casually slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Well Bon Bon, I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"What?" Tessa asked dryly. "No mushy hug?"

The pair on the couch ignored her and began playing a word game to pass the seemingly nonexistent time until they would be rescued from their current purgatory. Neither one of them allowed themselves to entertain the idea that they might not both make it back

%%%

"I can't believe how close we are to getting them back!" Elena gushed as she wandered through the woods with Caroline. "Can you believe it?"

"Elena, I have a serious problem!" Caroline exclaimed, her voice tinged with annoyance. "Could you _please_ listen?"

Elena's expression sobered as her friend reminded her of the reason they had come out here while the witches took a supposedly much needed rest to gather up their strength back at the house. "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm listening."

"Promise you won't judge me." Caroline commanded lightly.

"I promise." Elena agreed. "I know you can't have slept with Klaus again, so what did you do now?"

"I didn't really _do_ anything." Caroline explained. "I mean, I did, but it wasn't anything big. Not like…what you just rudely mentioned."

Elena smiled, trying not to laugh. "Caroline, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened!"

"Okay! Okay! I sort of…had a moment…with Enzo."

Elena stopped in her tracks and stared at Caroline. "_Enzo?_ What kind of moment?"

"Well, I was upset. Like, _really_ upset. I don't know. I sort of got angry at Jeremy for no reason and ran off into the woods to take a walk to cool down." Caroline said, the words tumbling out of her mouth and making Elena wish she could listen faster. "I ran into Enzo, literally, and he made some snarky comment, and I just blew up at him."

Elena listened patiently, watching her friend gesticulate wildly with her hands as she was prone to do when she got worked up over something, and tried so very hard not to look amused.

"I yelled at him, and then it all just hit me." Caroline admitted. "I hadn't really reacted to loosing Bonnie and Damon, and thinking that we'd never see them again, and then finding out that there could be a way to bring them back, but it wasn't certain, and…"

"Caroline, _breathe_!" Elena ordered, grabbing Caroline's shoulders and shaking her gently. "Just breathe."

Caroline closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths. "Okay. I'm good."

"Good." Elena said, letting her hands fall back to her sides. "You didn't do what you did with Klaus, did you?"

"No! Elena, of course not!"

"Just checking."

"No. I cried. A lot."

"You cried." Elena repeated, trying to figure out what was so bad about crying. "That's a good thing, Care."

"But I didn't just cry, Elena." Caroline said, her voice insisting that the act was indeed what had her so terribly upset. "I cried on Enzo!"

"So?"

"So, it was weird! He was being an ass, and then all of a sudden he was being sweet and petting me, and…" Caroline made a disgusted sound and shook like a dog after a bath. "Ugh! It was Enzo!"

Elena smiled. "Hey, at least you got him to turn his humanity back on. You must have a pretty big influence on him if having an emotional break down and crying on his shoulder was all it took. Do you remember what we had to go through to get me and Stefan to turn our humanity back on?"

"Yeah, but I had an intimate moment with _Enzo_." Caroline reminded her. "I don't want to have intimate moments with Enzo!"

"Who _do_ you want to have intimate moments with?" Elena asked, a suggestive glint in her eyes that she had no doubt picked up from Damon.

"No one." Caroline said too quickly.

"Liar." Elena accused playfully, grabbing Caroline's arm when she started to walk away. "Come on! You know you can tell me. No matter who it is. Unless it's Damon, and then you'd better run."

"I already had my time with Damon. Remember?"

Elena rolled her eyes, not particularly wanting to remember. "Come on. If you can't tell your best friend, who can you tell? Surely we haven't outgrown gossip yet."

Caroline was hesitant, but finally decided to confess. "Well…to be honest, I think I'm falling for…"

Elena gazed at her expectantly. "Spit it out!"

"Stefan." Caroline finally blurted.

Elena's eyes went wide and she simply stood there staring.

Caroline buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything!"

"No. Caroline, it's okay." Elena assured her. "I actually think you two would make a really good couple."

Caroline peeked at Elena through her fingers. "You do?"

Elena nodded. "Yeah. Stefan and I are friends. What we had is in the past. We've both moved on, and I want him to be happy. And I want you to be happy, and I think the two of you could make each other _very_ happy. You have my blessing."

Caroline grinned and hugged Elena. "Come on. Let's go light a fire under those witches' butts!"

**That little George Orwell reference actually has nothing to do with **_**1984**_**, which I had to read (twice) in my government class and couldn't even make it halfway through. It's actually a M*A*S*H (my all-time favorite show) reference. I've been watching a lot of it lately and there was a moment, in the episode where Hawkeye is listed as deceased, when the man from ICORP (or however it's spelled) tells Hawkeye that he is "what George Orwell described in **_**1984**_** as an unperson". That struck me as something Damon might say, and I had to find a way to work it in.**


	14. Moving Forward

"Go fish." Bonnie said, ignoring Tessa's snort of contempt as she flashed Damon a smile, smugly happy to be able to deny him his threes. "Have you thought about what you're going to do when you get back?"

Damon drew a card from the pile on the table, wondering how she had talked him into playing the silly kid's card game that hadn't even been invented when he was a kid. "Of course I have, but I don't think you really want to hear the details."

Bonnie considered her cards, trying to decide what she wanted to ask for. "That's not what I meant. Got any fives?"

Damon sighed and relinquished two cards. Making her the winner once again. "Five games in a row. You're cheating, Bonnie Bennett."

"How do you cheat at Go Fish?" she asked laughing.

"You're the witch." He said, his eyebrows jerking up. "You tell me. What _did_ you mean?"

"God, I wish they would hurry up and get me out of here!" Tessa complained.

Damon picked up a throw pillow and chucked it at her head, feeling playful despite the circumstances. "All that complaining's getting _really_ annoying."

Tessa stared at him, amazed that he had actually thrown a pillow at her. It seemed like such a childish thing to do. Especially for someone that hadn't been a child for at least a century. Then again, he was playing Go Fish, and that wasn't the only stupid activity the pair had found to entertain themselves while they were stuck here. And she had had to endure every second of it because there was no where else to go and no one else to talk to.

When she had agreed to help save Bonnie she hadn't actually looked forward to being imprisoned with her goody-goody descendant, but at least Bonnie wasn't as annoying as Damon. And if it weren't for Elena, Tessa suspected that Damon would be a lot more fun.

"What else am I supposed to do?" she demanded petulantly.

"You could make the best of it and play a game with us." Bonnie said as if it were the most obviously thing in the world. And it was.

"Or you could've made this place a little less awful." Damon reiterated.

"If we had made it paradise you wouldn't want to leave." Tessa shot back.

"Wrong!" Damon announced. "There's no possible way this place could be paradise. Elena's not here."

Bonnie giggled as he stuck his tongue out at Tessa and returned his attention to her. This was a side of Damon she wasn't used to, but she liked it and she hoped to see more of it if they were both able to get back.

"I _meant_," she said as she gathered up the cards to shuffle for another game. "Have you thought about what you'll do if you do come back as a human? Will you have Elena turn you?"

"Well, I was sort of planning on dealing with that when I get to it." Damon admitted, which didn't surprise Bonnie. "But unfortunately I can't have Elena turn me."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked. "You said it would be fitting to have Elena turn you since Katherine did the first time."

"I wasn't thinking when I said that." He said. "Have you forgotten about the whole sire bond fiasco we went through with Elena, and what we had to do to break that sire bond?"

"Right." Bonnie said.

"You don't want to know me when my humanity is off. Don't forget what happened with Maggie." Damon reminded her. "I guess we have to figure out how to get Enzo to turn his humanity back on once we get back."

"Once you get back." Bonnie corrected.

"No. Once _we_ get back. I won't accept any other outcome to this disaster."

Bonnie knew his determination stemmed from his love for Elena. She knew that both Elena and Jeremy would eventually move on if she couldn't make it back, but she also knew that Damon couldn't stand even the thought of Elena suffering the tiniest pain for the tiniest amount of time. Even if Elena was okay with only getting him back, Damon wasn't going to stop until he found a way to bring her back too. She only hoped that if they could only bring Damon back Elena could eventually convince him that she could live without Bonnie.

"Deal." Damon commanded, ending that particular line of conversation. "I'm going to win at least one game."

Bonnie smiled and dealt the cards, scattering the remaining part of the deck in a pile between them. She considered her cards and grinned impishly. "Got any f—"

She broke off in the middle of her sentence because it suddenly grew warm and the air seemed to sizzle around them. Fearing the place wasn't as stable as they had assumed, she dropped her cards and grabbed Damon's hand.

"What the hell's going on, Tessa?" Damon demanded, almost frantically, as he began to sweat and everything began to shake. "Is this place coming down?"

"Maybe." She replied slyly.

Neither of them believed her because of the tone of her voice and the look of relief on her face, but they squeezed each other's hands anyway. Clearly she wasn't going to explain, and they had no way of knowing for certain that they weren't about to disappear forever.

"Well I won't mention the hand holding to Elena or Jeremy when we get back." A woman's voice said.

It was unfamiliar to Bonnie, but it sent Damon on a quick, intense trip down memory lane. He had almost convinced himself it was impossible, but when he looked up there she was. Stunned, he let go of Bonnie and stood up, certain his jaw was much closer to the floor than it should be.

"Siobhan."

A reminiscent smile spread across the redhead's face, but she didn't move toward him. She was afraid to. "Hello Damon."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, somewhat flabbergasted. "How are you here?"

"With a little help from some acquaintances of yours." Siobhan explained vaguely. "And I'm here to rescue you."

"Damon," Bonnie said, her voice penetrating his near reverie. "Who is she?"

"I'm an old friend." Siobhan supplied when Damon didn't speak. "When Stefan called Klaus asking for help, he sent me."

"Klaus?" Damon and Bonnie both repeated in unison.

"You know Klaus?" Damon asked.

"I know several people you never knew I knew, Damon." She said calmly. "But we can talk about that later. Right now there's a very excited doppelganger waiting to see you."

"What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"They can't bring you back yet." Tessa finally spoke up. "They have to bring me back first."

"Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Because we aren't exactly sure _how_ you'll come back, but we do know _where_ you'll come back." Tessa explained. "If Damon does come back still a vampire, it would be a waste of perfectly good magic because he'll come back within the magic-free zone."

"We have to undo the Traveler spell first." Siobhan said. "So I'll be taking Tessa back with me, and we'll pull the two of you back eventually."

Bonnie wasn't sure if she didn't know that they might not be able to bring them both back or if she was simply as determined as Damon was. Of course, as far as she could tell, Siobhan didn't really have a reason to be determined to bring both of them back. Unless Klaus was threatening her to help.

"It's good to see you again, Damon." Siobhan said with a soft, sweet smile. "And it's nice to meet you, Bonnie."

Neither of them was quite sure what to say so they didn't say anything.

"Okay." Tessa said abruptly. "Let's go, Red."

"Don't call me that." Siobhan said, her sweet disposition quickly changing to annoyance.

"Why not, _Red_?"

"She's not kidding." Damon warned. "I know from experience."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's go."

Siobhan took Tessa's hand and they began chanting a spell Bonnie wasn't familiar with. Suddenly the air began to heat and sizzle again, and in a flash they were gone. Unfortunately, so was the warmth. Bonnie began to shiver and quickly wrapped herself in a blanket. This time it actually helped some.

"What happened when you called her Red?" she asked out of curiosity.

"At first she just gave me a warning." He said, smiling at the memory. "I think I called her Red maybe five times before she started setting me on fire every time I said it."

"Bitch witch?"

"She can be."

Bonnie looked up at him, an odd feeling in her gut. "She's not just an old friend, is she?"

"She's the one that almost convinced me to forget Katherine."


	15. Flashback

**Georgia, 2007**

Siobhan stepped out of the air conditioned Wal-Mart, humming to herself as the humid summer air wrapped itself around her, and was suddenly, and completely unexpectedly, whisked into the woods.

"Damon!" she shrieked in annoyance as soon as they stopped.

"Not quiet." A beautiful brunette replied as she pinned Siobhan roughly against a tree, her grasp firm around the witch's throat.

Siobhan started to retaliate with magic, but the woman's grip quickly grew stronger, making her gasp for air and fear that her trachea was about to be crushed. Siobhan had no idea who her captor was, but she thought it was pretty safe to assume she was a vampire judging by her strength and speed.

"Don't fight. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."

"Who are you?" Siobhan demanded, croaking the words since she could hardly breathe.

The vampire's brown eyes narrowed in a threatening manner. "I'm going to let you go now. If you run you won't make it very far. I'd compel you, but I know you're wearing vervain."

"Who are you?" Siobhan demanded again. This time her voice came out stronger, and she was proud of herself for not letting her fear show through. She was pretty sure that came from living with Elijah and Damon.

"Katherine Pierce." Her captor replied smugly. "I'm sure you've heard of me."

Siobhan stared at the woman, unable to hide her surprise and confusion. "You're Katherine Pierce?"

Katherine smirked and tossed her curls over her shoulder. "The one and only."

"Why are you here?" Siobhan asked, trying to decide whether she should call Damon or Elijah. Both would be very interested in Katherine's appearance, but she wasn't sure which one she would rather have the information. "_How_ are you here?"

"How doesn't really matter." Katherine said. "I'll tell you why, but first I should warn you that if you tell anyone I'm here or that you saw me I will rip your throat out."

Siobhan had always thought Klaus was the most frightening person she had ever met, but for some reason she felt a deeper fear at Katherine's threat. A threat from Klaus would sound worse, but she knew he would never hurt her. Neither would his brother or her current housemate. Katherine, on the other hand, was a different story. She had heard stories about her from the Mikaelsons and Damon, and she knew that Katherine Pierce would stop at nothing to save her own life.

When Siobhan didn't reply Katherine continued with her explanation. "I need your help."

"I won't tell anyone I saw you, but I won't help you either." Siobhan informed her determinedly. "I can't help you."

"I know you're very close to a few people that are determined to find me." Katherine said. "And I don't want to be found by any of them. That's where you come in."

Understanding that Katherine wasn't going to take no for an answer Siobhan took a breath and made sure to remain cautious when she spoke. She didn't want to accidentally say something that could be twisted into agreement. "And just what would I be doing _if_ I agreed to help you?"

"Like I said, not mentioning this to Klaus, Elijah, or anyone that might tell them."

"I already said I wouldn't say anything to anyone." Siobhan reminded her. "Somehow I have a feeling that's not all you want from me."

"I want you to distract Damon." Katherine said. "Convince him to give up on this stupid fantasy he has of the two of us living happily ever after. It's not going to happen.

"Clearly I'm not in the tomb like he thinks, and I can't have him opening it and finding out I'm not there."

"Why not?"

"Klaus knows I'm hiding somewhere, but he doesn't know where. I'm sure he's heard about the fire by now, and I'm also sure that he's not completely convinced that I'm locked up in that tomb. Right?"

Siobhan shrugged, being completely honest. "I don't know what he suspects. I know he's looking for you, and I know why, but they don't really share those details with me."

"Why not? You're so close."

Siobhan ignored the patronizing tone of Katherine's voice. Klaus and Elijah had planned on her never finding out about their search for Katherine. They wanted to protect her from some of the darker aspects of their lives, but she had overheard part of a conversation last year and made Elijah tell her. He refused to tell her everything, and she was okay with that. She didn't really want to be involved in the search for Katherine. She had only wanted them to be honest with her because she loved them both so much.

"Well," Katherine said, sounding as if she didn't really care. "That doesn't really matter. All I want you to do, other than keep your mouth shut, is to get Damon to move on. I can't have him finding out I'm not in that tomb. Once it's opened and he finds out I'm not there, I have no doubt that the news will find its way back to Klaus."

"Damon doesn't know anything about Klaus."

"I don't care." Katherine growled. "There are a lot of vampires, witches, werewolves, and humans that would be more than happy to feed Klaus even the tiniest tidbit of information on me, and I can't risk _anyone _finding out for certain that I'm not in that tomb."

"How in the world would I possibly get Damon to move on?" Siobhan asked. "If I was going to try."

"Well, you're a woman." Katherine stated. "Damon likes women. I know the two of you are awfully close, and I'm pretty sure you can find a way to…seduce him into forgetting about me. Or at least forgetting this crazy plan of his, because let's face it." She paused to toss her hair and flash a narcissistic smile. "I'm Katherine Pierce. I'm unforgettable."

"I'm sure I won't." Siobhan agreed, ready to end the conversation and go home. "But I'm not helping you."

She turned and walked away, only managing to take three steps before Katherine pounced on her and sank her fangs into her neck. As soon as she did Siobhan used her magic to throw Katherine off, taking satisfaction in the sound of her opponent landing hard on the ground several feet away.

Siobhan got up, pressing her hand to the wound on her neck since Katherine's teeth had ripped her flesh open, and flung out her hand to send Katherine flying once more. "Don't mess with me, Katherine. I'm not a witch you can manipulate, and you'd be stupid to try. If I change my mind I'll let you know."

Katherine, who was currently impaled on a small, low tree branch that had purposefully missed her heart, tried to get free and found herself magically bound to the tree until Siobhan was safely away.

%%%

"What happened?" Damon demanded as soon as he saw the still bleeding wound on Siobhan's neck. He was across the room in a flash and clearly ready to kill whomever had hurt her.

"I was attacked by a vampire." She said truthfully. "What does it look like?"

He watched as she took a dish towel out of a kitchen drawer and pressed it to her neck to help control the bleeding, too worried about her to think rationally. "There's another vampire in town?"

"There was." She said. "I killed it. Are you going to give me your blood, or am I going to have to go to the emergency room and come up with some story as to why I need stitches?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Siobhan grabbed his arm and held his wrist in front of his face. "Hello! I need vampire blood! You're the vampire!"

Damon, still looking very upset over her attack, quickly bit into his wrist and let her drink some of his blood to heal the wound on her neck.

"Thank you." She said, wiping blood from her lips.

She was glad they lived just across the street from the store. She had been able to slow the bleeding some, though she couldn't actually heal the wound, but she surely would have bled to death if they lived any farther. She was also glad Damon had been home.

As she went upstairs to her bedroom she realized that she would end up helping Katherine because she didn't want to see Damon hurt, and that's exactly what would happen if he found out she wasn't in that tomb.


	16. Fallout

"Siobhan, wake up."

Siobhan opened her eyes, saw Elena leaning over her, and reacted by sending her flying across the room. Elena hit the wall hard and Stefan and Alaric rushed to make sure she was alright. Siobhan jumped up, prepared to fight, and Caroline pounced on her, flashing fangs and ready to kill.

Tessa's laughter made Siobhan realize what had happened. She remained still so Caroline wouldn't attack.

"Caroline!" Elena yelled, surprising everyone. "Let her go!"

"She tried to kill you!" Caroline yelled back, not understanding why Elena was defending the witch.

With Stefan's help, even though she didn't need it, Elena got to her feet and pushed her hair out of her face. "She thought I was Katherine."

Caroline looked back at the redheaded witch she had pinned to the couch and saw the look of apology and slight embarrassment on her face. "You weren't trying to hurt Elena?"

"No." Siobhan said, shaking her head. "Of course not. I was dreaming about when I first met Katherine. I ended up having to defend myself and when I opened my eyes and saw Elena, I reacted without thinking."

Elena walked over and gently pulled Caroline back. "It's okay, Care. She's not going to hurt me. She's here to help us. Remember?"

Caroline was still a little suspicious, but she stepped back, giving Siobhan some room to move. She didn't apologize because she didn't feel she needed to.

Siobhan looked up at Elena, still careful because she knew almost everyone in this room would kill her in a heartbeat if she made a move to harm her. Caroline had just proved that. Slowly, she scooped her hair over one shoulder. "I'm sorry, Elena. Are you okay?"

Elena nodded and sat down beside the witch to prove to her friends that she wasn't afraid of her. "Yeah. It's okay. I'm sorry I scared you."

Siobhan wasn't surprised that Elena would apologize for something that wasn't her fault. She hadn't known her long, but she knew enough to understand that that's the kind of person Elena Gilbert was.

"Don't be." She said. "I blame Katherine."

A thought suddenly occurred to Caroline, and she plopped down on the couch as well. "You said that Klaus was the one that told you Katherine was dead. Why did he tell you if he didn't know you knew her?"

Siobhan shifted to face Caroline. "He did know. Apparently Katherine let the cat out of the bag when he had her locked up in some apartment here."

"Mine." Alaric put in.

Siobhan nodded to let him know she wasn't ignoring him, but didn't acknowledge his comment any further. "I didn't know he knew until I arrived in New Orleans to bury Monique and showed up unannounced on their doorstep, thinking I would be welcomed with open arms. Klaus was furious. He jumped on me, and it threw me off. He had never even made a threatening gesture toward me, and when he attacked me it scared me so bad I actually forgot how to use my magic for a moment. Elijah and Marcel had to pull him off of me and hold him back while I explained everything."

"What did you tell him?" Stefan asked.

"The truth." She said. "I was terrified of what Katherine might do to me if I didn't help her, or to Damon. I'd already lost so many people I loved, and I was torn between my love for Klaus and my love for Damon and I simply didn't know what to do. I was only nineteen at the time, and I was scared and in love. I figured Klaus would eventually find Katherine, and I didn't want to see Damon get hurt. So I agreed to help her, and I still haven't decided if it was the worst decision I ever made or the best."

"Niklaus clearly forgave you." Esther said, contempt clear in her voice.

It was obvious to Siobhan that Esther was only working with her because she didn't have much choice. She wanted something from this group of people, and Siobhan had a pretty good idea what that something was. She was also pretty certain that, judging by what she had seen and learned so far, even though none of them particularly liked Klaus they wouldn't be hurrying to help her kill him.

Siobhan suddenly felt an intense hate toward the woman that wanted to kill her own children. The very ones that had become her own family. No matter what they were or what they had done in the thousand plus years they had been alive there was absolutely no way she would let Esther harm them.

"My son is not easily persuaded to forgiveness." Esther continued. "I'm curious as to how you quelled his anger."

Even though she knew it was Esther speaking, it was strange to hear that sort of speech coming from the lips of a sixteen year old girl. Siobhan looked at her squarely, meeting her gaze. "If your son has problems with forgiveness it's your fault. No one should have to fear their own parents. Parents are supposed to love their children."

"I do love my children." Esther assured her, though no one truly believed it. "I love them so much that I made them into monsters. I made a mistake. I do not _want_ to kill my children. Unfortunately, that is the only choice I have if I want to undo what I so unfairly did to them so long ago. I am driven by love. Mikael is driven by hate."

"That's a pretty speech, but I don't buy it." Siobhan said. "And to answer your question, Klaus hasn't forgiven me for not telling him about Katherine. He hasn't killed me for it because he loves me more than he hated her, something he certainly didn't learn from you."

Everyone was silent as Esther rose from her seat. They all half expected her to retaliate and try to hurt Siobhan, but she simply walked away. Once she was gone they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Caroline was touched by Siobhan's defense of Klaus because, no matter how awful he was, he didn't really deserve to have a mother that wanted him dead. And the fact that she was sympathizing with Klaus unnerved her, so she went outside to get some air.

Stefan followed. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She said, flashing him a smile.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because you looked kind of freaked out just now."

"You were in there, right?" she countered. "You heard all that."

Stefan suspected that wasn't all there was to it, but he didn't push. "I understand what they're going through."

"Who?"

"Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah." He clarified. "I know what it feels like to have a parent that hates what you are. So do you. Maybe that's part of what made you feel something toward Klaus even though he wasn't someone you felt you should feel something for."

Caroline realized he was right. When her mother had found out that she was a vampire she had asked her to compel the knowledge out of her mind because she didn't want to know that her daughter was the thing she had been taught to hate. When her father had found out he had tried to torture it out of her. Neither of them had actually tried to kill her, but she understood what it was like to have your parents look at you and see something they despised instead of someone they loved.

"I never thought about it like that." She said, smiling at Stefan.

He shrugged as if it were no big deal. "What are friends for?"

"To make you realize that maybe some of your mistakes weren't really as awful as you thought they were." On impulse she kissed his cheek. "Thanks buddy."

Stefan smiled as she went back inside, happy that he had been able to help. He knew she was still beating herself up over what had happened with Klaus, and there was really no reason for it. He had been down a similar road at one point in time.

**Can you tell I pretty much adore Klaus? And jut so you know, this story is drawing near to the end. I'm considering a sequel at some point, but I'd like to know if y'all want more? I don't really want to write it if no one's going to read it. Anyway, thanks for reading it up to this point! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story! Review if you feel the urge. I love reading them:)**


	17. She's Moved On

The Traveler spell had been easy enough to undo since Tessa knew exactly how it had been done. She, Esther, and Siobhan had simply positioned themselves around the no-magic zone and chanted the proper incantation to rid the town of Marcos' handiwork.

The hard part was the waiting, because Siobhan and Esther were a little worn out from bringing Tessa back and lifting the Traveler spell. They needed to rest, which everyone understood, but no one was happy about. It had been a month and they all felt they had waited long enough.

But at least she was back in her own bed, Caroline thought as she stared at the ceiling with a faint smile on her face. And she knew Elena was happy to be back at the boarding house where she was no doubt lying in Damon's bed this second dreaming of having him back.

At the thought of Damon a memory popped into her head of when she had hit him as hard as she possibly could with her lamp in a failed attempt to keep him away. It hadn't harmed him in the least, and now that she thought about it she was a little surprised that it hadn't done anything to the lamp either. The shade was a little dented, but that was all.

"Knock knock."

Caroline sat up and smiled at her mom. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check on you." Liz said as she stepped into the room and sat down on the bed. "It's been a while since I've been able to do that, and with all the craziness the last few years I think I need to."

"I'm fine, Mom." Caroline assured her. "Two of my friends are dead, and it really sucks, but we'll have them back pretty soon, so I'm okay now."

"You're counting Damon as a friend?" Liz asked, her face and voice giving away her surprise.

Caroline shrugged. "Well, not really, but I don't hate him anymore. I don't particularly like him all that much, but Stefan and Elena love him, so I guess I'm stuck with him. I guess I do kind of miss him a little, and I definitely hate that Elena has to go through this."

Liz reached out and gave Caroline's hand a squeeze. "You are a wonderful friend, Caroline. I hope they all know how lucky they are to have you."

"Of course they do." Caroline said, only half jokingly.

"Get some sleep." Liz said, standing up and dropping a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Caroline said.

She turned out the light, snuggled under the covers, and quickly fell asleep. Unfortunately she had a dream about someone she would rather not dream about and woke up only three hours later. Unable to get back to sleep, because she was afraid of what, or whom, she might end up dreaming about, she decided she needed to talk to Stefan. Instead of calling, she went out to her car, intending to drive over there, but stopped when she saw Enzo leaning against the driver's side.

"Why are you lurking in my driveway in the middle of the night?" she demanded.

"I'm not lurking." He said. "I'm standing. Actually, I'm not even standing. I'm leaning."

"Fine. Why are you leaning in my driveway in the middle of the night?" she demanded once more, rephrasing her question to suit him. Having a sex dream about Klaus was bad enough. She didn't want to deal with Enzo too.

"I just wanted to talk." He said, sounding as if his intentions were completely innocent. "I thought maybe we could take a walk."

"In the dark?"

"We're vampires, Caroline." He reminded her. "We may have daylight rings, but we're still creatures of the night."

She narrowed her eyes and gave him a pointed look. "If I take a walk with you, do you promise to behave?"

Enzo stood up and placed his hand over his heart, slowly approaching her. "I promise to be a good little boy. As much as I can anyway. We can't completely change who we are after all."

Caroline considered her options. Take a walk with Enzo, drive all the way out to the boarding house to see Stefan, who probably wasn't even awake, or go back to bed and risk another unwanted dream about Klaus. After a moment she decided the former would be the least dangerous, or annoying on her part, option and agreed to a short walk.

Enzo slung his arm around her shoulder and smiled. "I knew you'd come around to me."

She shrugged his arm off and put some distance between them. "I agreed to a walk. That doesn't mean I like you."

"What happened the other day in the woods might suggest something a little different."

"You can't judge my feelings toward you because of something that happened when I was extremely upset and overwhelmed." She said. "You just happened to be there when the dam broke. The same thing would've happened if it had been…"

"Klaus?" he suggested.

She rolled her eyes, not wanting to admit that that's exactly the name she had been about to say. "Or Silas. Although I doubt Silas would've been nice to me. You and Klaus are terrible people, but at least you have hearts. Well, Klaus does. I'm not so sure about you yet."

"That hurts!" he replied. "After everything I told you about Maggie you don't think I have a heart?"

"I watched you kill Tom Avery without even the slightest hesitation!" she reminded him. "How is that having a heart?"

"I killed Tom Avery to save our friends." He pointed out. "It was either Tom or Stefan. It had to be done, Caroline."

"And if you hadn't killed Tom the stupid Travelers wouldn't have been able to bring Marcos back, and we wouldn't be in this mess right now!" she yelled.

Enzo grabbed her arm, jerking her back when she kept walking. "Caroline, if I hadn't killed Tom they would've killed Stefan. Do you really think they would've simply given up because we failed? Either way we'd still be exactly where we are!"

Caroline wanted to keep arguing, but she couldn't. He was right. Instead she pulled her arm free from his grasp and turned to keep walking, finding Tyler standing directly in her path. "Tyler! What are you doing out so late?"

His gaze remained on Enzo, and he didn't look happy. "What are you doing out with him?"

"I couldn't sleep." Caroline said, starting to explain before she realized she no longer owed him an explanation. "Wait. No. Why do you care what I'm doing? We're broken up, remember?"

"That doesn't mean I don't still love you, Care." He said, shifting his gaze to meet her eyes. "I do. I hate what you did, and I don't know if I can ever forgive it, but I'm still in love with you anyway."

Caroline shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tyler. You don't get anymore chances. You hate Klaus more than you love me, and that's never going to change. I gave you a choice and you walked away. That was your last chance."

She zoomed off into the night, leaving Tyler and Enzo standing in the middle of the street.

"Looks like you lost, mate." Enzo said, his voice tinged with humor. "Time to move on."

Tyler looked at him. "She's not going to fall for you if that's what you're hoping for."

"I wasn't." Enzo admitted. "To be honest I was hoping for a short, fiery affair, but I doubt that'll happen either."

"You're not her type."

"And yet she slept with Klaus." Enzo said. "I hear I have a lot in common with him. The accent for one. What have you got?"

"I love her." Tyler said, almost angrily.

"Well, I'm afraid she doesn't love you anymore." Enzo said just to taunt him because he was having fun. "She's moved on. And I know exactly who's next on her list."

%%%

"Good. You're awake." Caroline said when she found Stefan sitting in the living room.

"Caroline." He said, rising from his seat on the couch because she looked upset. "What's wrong?"

Nothing." She flashed across the room and took his face in her hands before she had time to talk herself out of it.

Before Stefan could react her lips were locked on his. After a stunned second he realized they had been working toward this moment for a long time now and pulled her against him, kissing back hard.

Elena, who had been two seconds away from stepping into the room, watched for a moment from the doorway before turning around and going back upstairs. She smiled as she walked, happy that two of the people she loved most were finally being honest with each other.


	18. Coming Home

"I'm going to let you deliver the news, because I don't really want to give them another reason to hate me in case I ever need their help with anything," Tessa said, pulling Siobhan aside while Esther was using Siobhan's cell phone to get an update from her precious lemming of a son Finn. "But there's something they need to know so they can be prepared if it happens."

"That's very kind and considerate of you." Siobhan said, sounding surprised since everything she had heard about this woman said just the opposite.

Tessa shrugged. "Well, I don't really have a reason to be selfish and vindictive anymore, so I guess I can try being nice and see how I like it."

"Well, what is it?"

"Esther and I set this up to save Bonnie." Tessa explained. "Damon was an unexpected surprise. Even with the three of us, as powerful as we are, we may not be able to bring them both back."

"What?" Siobhan demanded, grabbing Tessa. "Tell me you didn't just say that! Tell me this is some kind of cruel joke. I swear, if you're lying to me—"

"Oh please." Tessa said blandly. "You think you can threaten me? Are you forgetting that I've been around for more than two thousand years, come back from the dead twice, and created two worlds _and_ an immortality elixir? You may be a very powerful, and very talented witch, but you can't hurt me, little girl."

"Fine." Siobhan spat. "I can't hurt you, but you can't make me go in there and tell them that they may never see one of their friends again. You _cannot_ make me tell Elena she might never get Damon back after all the work we've done trying to do just that."

"Calm down, Red."

Siobhan glared at the ancient witch and seriously thought about trying to hurt her. She absolutely despised being called Red.

"Elena will get her non-doppelganger, one true Salvatore back." Tessa assured her. "I warned Bonnie and Damon about this already, and they decided that if we can only bring one of them back it'll be Damon. So we'll bring him back first and hope we can bring Bonnie back too. I just wanted to let you know so everyone can prepare for the worst in case it happens."

Siobhan took a deep breath and walked back into the house, trying to convince herself that she wasn't about to totally ruin everyone's day. She gathered them all together, noting that Stefan and Caroline seemed a little closer and happier than usual, and filled them in on what Tessa had just shared with her. When she finished, the room was silent. She held her breath, waiting for someone to start crying or yelling, but no one did. None of them looked happy about it, but they weren't falling apart either. She wasn't so sure that was a good sign as Esther and Tessa came back in, ready to move into town to bring Damon back.

They all piled into cars and probably looked like some sort of parade or funeral procession as they drove back into town, everyone relived when they didn't start dying off one by one.

Since Siobhan was the one that would be making the trip to the temporary Other Side they all gave her messages to pass along to Bonnie in case she couldn't come back. She promised to deliver them and assure them that everything would work out just fine even though she wasn't sure it would.

"Siobhan." Elena said, grabbing her arm as the witch started to walk away. "Tell Damon I'll be okay without Bonnie."

Siobhan smiled. "Tell him yourself. He'll be back in your arms soon. I promise."

Elena felt like crying as she watched Siobhan walk toward the blackened crater that had once been a popular hang out spot for pretty much everyone in Mystic Falls, and was a little surprised when she realized Tyler was the one that slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. Because she needed the contact she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

Siobhan made her way through the rubble and charred debris and met the other two witches in the center of what had been a building not so long ago. "Okay." She said. "I'm ready."

They three of them took each others' hands, standing in a circle facing each other, and began to chant the appropriate spell. All three closed their eyes and blocked out all distractions as they concentrated on what they were doing, focusing all of their energy and power on the task at hand. The air simmered around them and, though her body remained there, Siobhan's spirit was transported to the Other Side.

When she opened her eyes she was standing in the ruins of the Salvatore house with Bonnie and Damon staring at her sudden appearance. She had once again interrupted a card game, but this time it looked like Damon had finally convinced Bonnie to play strip poker. It was quite obvious that he was loosing seeing as he was stripped down to his underwear and socks and Bonnie was still fully dressed.

Siobhan smirked, trying not to laugh. She picked up Damon's pants from the floor and tossed them at him, satisfied when they landed comically on his head. "Get dressed, Romeo. You're going home. I won't mention this to Elena either."

Damon got up and quickly began putting his clothes back on while Siobhan explained what they needed to do.

"Bonnie, I need you to go back to the cemetery and wait for me." She said. "We'll get Damon delivered back to Elena safe and sound, and then I'll come find you."

"No." Bonnie said defiantly, standing up. "I'm going with you."

Siobhan could see that there was no use in arguing so she simply hurried them along since she didn't know if there was a time limit on the spell. They ran back to the Grill and Siobhan gave them a moment to say good-bye just in case.

"Tell everyone I love them, and not to worry." Bonnie said with tears in her eyes. "I'll be okay. I'll be able to find peace knowing that you're all safely back home."

Damon nodded, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't form the words. On an impulse he stepped forward, wrapped her in a tight hug, and kissed her cheek. They were both crying when they let go, and Bonnie took his hand, not ready to let go completely.

"Bonnie?" he finally said, his voice a little rough. "If you don't make it back…I'll miss you."

She smiled at him through her tears, nodding and squeezing his hand. "Take care of everyone for me, okay?"

"I won't have to." He said. "Because you _will_ make it back."

"Damon, just promise me you will."

He nodded. "I will. I promise."

"Ready?" Siobhan asked.

They both nodded and she began the spell, pushing from their side as Esther and Tessa, and everyone else, were pulling from the other. She hoped with all her heart that they would be able to get them both back as the air began to simmer and almost spark, but when she opened her eyes only Damon was gone.

"Come on." She said to Bonnie, holding out her hand.

Bonnie took it and they ran as fast as they could back to the cemetery.


	19. It's Not over

Elena was watching closely, still clinging to Tyler as the rest of her friends stood close by waiting as well. She was afraid to blink because she didn't want to miss anything. It didn't seem like anything was happening. Siobhan had stopped chanting a while ago. Elena assumed she was on the Other Side with Bonnie and Damon and wanted to know exactly what was taking so long.

Suddenly, there he was. Damon standing in the middle of the ring of witches, looking exactly the same as he had before they had kamikazed themselves. She wasn't entirely certain he was actually there until she blinked and he didn't disappear. She wanted to call out and run to him, but Esther and Tessa were still chanting and she was afraid that if she did she would break their concentration and Damon would be gone again.

Damon could see everyone gathered on the other side of the street, Elena and Tyler standing at the front of the group. He was a little confused as to why Tyler was the one she had sought comfort from, but all he really cared about was the fact that he was back. He had kept his promise and made it back to her. All he wanted was to run to her and kiss her and hold her, but he couldn't get out of the ring of witches just yet so he tried to wait as patiently as he could.

Finally Tessa stopped chanting long enough to utter the words. "Welcome back, Damon. You may go now."

He didn't need to be told a second time. He ducked under their joined hands and paused only for a moment to take one more look at all of his friends and part-time enemies waiting to welcome him back to the land of the living. It was truly a beautiful sight.

"Damon!" Elena called out as the witches resumed chanting and began walking in the direction of the cemetery, keeping the circle intact.

"Elena!" he replied as she let go of Tyler and began to run, leaping into his arms and bursting into tears as she clung to him.

He held her tight and pressed hasty, joyous kisses all over the side of her face. After a moment he set her back on her feet and crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her as if he would never have another chance. They were both crying when they broke apart.

Elena reached up and framed his face with her hands. "You came back to me."

"I promised I would, didn't I?" he replied, kissing her once more simply because he could.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. "Don't you ever leave me again."

"It might be a little hard to leave you since I don't plan on ever letting go of you." Damon said.

"I'm okay with that." She pressed closer even though they couldn't physically get any closer, tears still streaming down her face. "I was afraid I'd never see you again. I thought I'd lost you forever."

He brushed her hair back, holding her face in his hands and reveling in the fact that he could feel her. "You can't loose me, baby. Go ahead and try. I'm like a bad penny."

She gave him another hug that didn't quite feel the same and they joined the others as the group made its way to the cemetery to welcome Bonnie back. Damon didn't let go of Elena's hand the entire way there, and he couldn't get over the fact that although it felt right, it simply didn't feel the same. He was growing more and more certain that he was actually human again, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

By the time they all reached the cemetery the witches had broken the circle and stopped chanting, indicating that the spell was over. Unfortunately, something was very obviously wrong. Siobhan's body was lying lifelessly on the ground and Bonnie was nowhere to be seen.

The pieces quickly fell into place in his head and he pulled Elena close as he stared at the witches, unwilling to believe what was right in front of his eyes. "No."

Esther didn't show any emotion whatsoever as she simply walked away, announcing that her work here was done. To everyone's surprise Tessa actually had tears in her eyes as she looked at them and shook her head.

"I'm sorry." She said. "It didn't work. We couldn't bring them back."

"No!" Damon shouted at her, letting go of Elena and marching over to stop in front of Tessa, barely managing to control the urge to grab her and shake her as hard as he could. "You _promised _you'd bring her back!"

"I promised I'd _try_, Damon, and we did." Tessa replied. "We tried as hard as we could, but the spell was only built to bring one back. I'm sorry. Bonnie's gone."

As she walked away, leaving them to grieve in peace, Damon turned back toward his friends. They were all visibly upset, including Enzo. Poor Jeremy was as white as a sheet and looked like he was about to crumble. Damon felt his heart break as he watched Jeremy break down and fall into Elena's arms.

His weight was too much for her though and Damon tried to rush over to help hold him up, but he no longer had his vampire speed. Elena had already eased her brother to the ground by the time he reached them and was holding him as they cried together.

Damon looked up to see that Caroline was clinging to Stefan, crying uncontrollably and that Matt had sunk down on a concrete bench, he legs no longer possessing the ability to hold him up. Liz, Tyler, Alaric, and Enzo all stood there either crying or looking very sad and somewhat bewildered.

Damon realized he was crying too as he looked back at Elena and Jeremy, reaching out a hand to stroke Elena's hair. She grasped it with her own while keeping the other arm around her brother, and Damon, feeling that he needed to at least try to offer Jeremy some comfort, placed his other hand on the boy's shoulder. He knew it didn't do any good, but he was somewhat gladdened by the fact that Jeremy didn't shrug his hand away.

Cami, who had remained silent throughout much of the process, could feel the pain and sadness radiating into the air around her. All of these people that she had only known for such a short time were all feeling such a heavy grief, and there was nothing she could do to help. Instead of trying to offer comfort she walked off a little way to give them all some privacy and pulled out her phone.

"Have you hit another snag?" Klaus asked when he answered.

Cami felt a tear slid down her cheek. "Sort of. It didn't work."

"What do you mean it didn't work?" Klaus demanded, sounding almost scared, as if he was actually afraid of loosing Bonnie and Damon forever.

"They were able to bring Damon back, but…" she broke off as more tears came. "Bonnie's gone. The spell was only made to bring back one and they weren't able to manipulate it to bring them both back. And…"

Klaus, hearing the pain in her voice and feeling his own growing in his chest, patiently waited for her to continue.

"Siobhan's gone too, Klaus."

"What?"

"Since she was the weakest of the three she was the one that went to the Other Side, so that Esther and Tessa could bring her back after Bonnie and Damon, and…" she paused once more. "They couldn't."

"Siobhan's gone." Klaus said, sounding as if he were trying to wrap his head around the idea. "Are you absolutely certain?"

Cami looked back to where the witch's body lay on the ground and nodded though she knew he couldn't see it. "I'm absolutely certain. Klaus, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you." He said and hung up, fighting the urge to cry himself.

"What's the matter, brother?" Elijah asked as he came in and found Klaus standing in the middle of the room looking completely crushed.

Suddenly Klaus' eyes flashed and turned to steel, an angry expression washing over his face. "I am going to hunt our mother down and rip her apart piece by piece."

"Niklaus, what happened?" Elijah demanded calmly.

"She sent Siobhan to the Other Side to bring Bonnie and Damon back, and was only able to bring Damon back!" Klaus exploded. "They're gone, Elijah! Bonnie and Siobhan are gone!"

Elijah didn't show it, but he felt the pain deeper than his brother did. Klaus loved Siobhan just as much, but he hadn't been the one to stay with her those last few years before she turned eighteen. Elijah had been the one to step in and finish raising her, becoming older brother and father as well as friend. And now his mother had taken her away from him.

Concealing his immense anger as he was want to do when he felt that letting his temper fly wouldn't accomplish anything, he spoke evenly, though his brown eyes were as hard and dark as his brother's. "She will pay for this, Niklaus. I will see to it myself."

"We will both see to it, brother." Klaus corrected.

"No." Elijah said. "You will stay here and deal with our father. I will take care of Mother. She was my child."

Klaus, not being one to back down, realized that it would be smarter to let Elijah handle it. He was right after all. Siobhan had basically been his daughter for several years.

Klaus smiled grimly. "Alright, brother. You avenge your child, and I'll avenge mine."

**And that, my friends, is the end of our story. I tried to space these last few chapters out some, but the story refused to let me stop writing and I couldn't wait to share it with you! I'm already working on ideas for the sequel, but I'm not sure how long it will be before it's ready to be posted. It is coming though. More twists and turns and fatherly love. Thank you all SO MUCH for reading and enjoying and sharing your thoughts! It means so much to me!**


	20. Daughter of the Revolution

**Author Note: The first chapter of the sequel, **_**Daughters of the Revolution**_**, is up now! Check it out to find out what happens next!**


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